Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: ZAFT's Archangel
by Dearing
Summary: The Archangel. The carrier Rau Le Creuset saw better to destroy then capture due to lack of manpower. But what if those additional men and women had been within contact distance? An AU fic that tries to answer that question.
1. Prologue

This idea came to me a while ago while I was rewatching through Gundam Seed. I often wondered why Rau didn't at least try to capture the Archangel, seeing as the Strike is next to useless without it. I always assaumed that it was because he lacked the manpower.

And so, this fic was born.

Here I've loosely salvaged the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit from my another fic, The Path to Bloody Valentine, to fill in that lack of manpower. I've given many of then new Gundam Seedish sounding names, and I've touched them up here and there, so I think they'll be a much better cast then they were in the Bloody Valentine.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic. Updates will be as and when they're finished.

Thanks for reading. Reviews always welcome and helpful flames nonwithstanding.

Enjoy!

Dearing

* * *

**PHASE 00**

**PROLOGUE**

It was the Seventieth year of the Cosmic Era. A time of tension and mistrust between the major nations of the Earth Sphere.

On one side stood Naturals and the Earth Alliance, comprised of many major nations of the world humanity called home.

On the other stood the genetically enhanced Coordinators and the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, ZAFT, exiles of Earth because of their genetic augmentation, banished to the hourglass space colonies named PLANTs at Earth's fifth Lagrangian Point.

For twenty long years, this human species, divided only by fear and mistrust, had lived in uneasy peace for the last twenty years.

But in the early months of 70CE, all that changed.  
One February 11th, of the Year Seventy of the Cosmic Era, the Earth Alliance officially declared war against ZAFT and the PLANTs. Believing the conflict to be short due to their superior numbers over the Coordinators, the Naturals of Earth were determined to destroy what they considered to be a blight on humanity, never believing for a moment that ZAFT could possibly defeat them.  
But they were wrong. They misjudged those that were born smarter, stronger and faster then them. They never realised that the advantages of the bipedal weapons platform, named mobile suits, their enemies had created to protect themselves far outweighed their supposed advantage of greater numbers.  
And when they made the first move, on February 14th, 70CE…a conflict that could have easily been negotiated and ended diplomatically, became a bloody vengeful war that would last for almost two years…

* * *

_FEBUARY 14TH, COSMIC ERA SEVENTY_

_JUNIUS SEVEN LOCAL SPACE_

"_My God…"_

"_Junius Seven! They took out Junius Seven!"_

"_All units regroup! Stay together!_

"_My mother lived on Junius! She can't be dead!"_

I gripped the control sticks of my GINN tightly as the light of a nuclear blast blinded my every camera, the stars of the void beyond engulfed in it's brilliance as I struggled against the shockwaves, my mind reeling at the events that had transpired before me.

Junius Seven, an agricultural PLANT, now erupted into a massive cloud of spinning debris, her hourglass habitat areas cracking and splintering like fragile glass as the continents were blown apart.

My home…my Uncle…they were both gone.

I could only prey that Shiho had been away as she had said she would be.

"_Mr. Westfield!"_

I shook myself out of thoughts as a Proto-GINN came up beside me, the youthful features of Ellion Michaels appearing on my communications screen.

"Stay calm," I swallowed thickly to try and rid my voice of it's dry tone, "You hear me? Gather up the other cadets. I'll try and get Le Creuset or your sister on the line…"

"_But Junius Seven!"_ the redhead stared at me in disbelief, _"What if there are survivors?"_

"The PLANT broke up too quickly," I clenched my hands harder around the GINN's control sticks. Ellion was barely a year younger then myself, a pilot who hadn't even finished his basic training. He was being naïve, "It would have to be a miracle for anyone to have gotten to the life boats in time. Our best bet is to regroup and…"

"_There's always a chance!"_ the cadet shook his head violently, _"Mr. Westfield, we have to at least look!"_

"We're in the middle of a battle here!" I scowled darkly, "Gather you're comrades and get back to the Valiant, that's an order!"

"_You're not a Commander Mr. Westfield," _Ellion scowled darkly, _"You're a regular soldier like me. And if you won't go help those people, then I will!"_

"Ellion wait!" I forced my GINNs to reach out and grab the Proto-GINN's shoulder, only to miss it by inches as the emerald mobile suit rocketed out of reach, "Come back! It's too dangerous! Stupid fool!"

With no other choice, I pushed my machine after the escaping cadet, ducking and weaving through the chaos Junius Seven's destruction had brought to the battlefield as Coordinators, blinded by rage, began to mercilessly slaughter the Natural's retreating Moebius mobile armours.

"Dammit. Uncle Robert…How could the Naturals do something so heartless?," I grimaced as I watched the mangled remains of a tractor fly past my GINN's head, the asphyxiated farmer still in it's seat with arms waving listlessly in the vacuum, "This is all way out of my league. I'm an evaluation engineer dammit…AN EVALUATION ENGINEER!"

My anger fuelled, I quickly sliced a Moebius clean in half as it flew into my path, Ellion ahead of me narrowly missing a beheaded GINN as it careened out of control. My Uncle was probably dead, along with just over two hundred and forty thousand innocent men, women and children. The sheer horror of it all was just beyond my comprehension.  
No, I definitely wasn't cut out for this.  
_"Mr. Westfield!"_ Ellion's voice from up ahead brought me out of my thoughts once again, _"I've…I've found one! A lifeboat!"_

I blinked in surprise as I focused my cameras to the point where the Proto-GINN indicated. Sure enough, the small cylindrical form of a PLANT lifeboat hung amid the stars, bright warning lights at it's fore and aft trying desperately to grab someone's attention.

"They must have been really close to the lifeboats to reach them before the PLANT broke up," I smiled as I shook my head in disbelief, "There probably won't be many survivors, but I guess we _should_ be thankful for this little miracle,"

"_You better radio the Valiant Mr. Westfield,"_ Ellion smiled as the Proto-GINN moved off towards the pod, it's hand outstretched to make contact, _"We have to get these people off the battlefield as soon as possi…"_

Then…a single beam of green impaled the Proto-GINN through the chest.

It happened within the span of a moment, but it felt like it could have lasted for an eternity. All I could do was watch as the beam blast sliced through the mobile suit before me like a knife through butter, the entire frame arching back from the blast as it's main camera dimmed.

"_Mr….West…"_

As the beam dissipated, the Proto-GINN exploded into a purplish cloud of light and shrapnel, engulfing the lifeboat as debris penetrated it's fragile shell.

"ELLION!" my scream had barely left my mouth when a volley of vulcan cannon fire sliced through my GINN's sword wielding arm, pure instinct pulling my machine clear as the limb detonated, saving the rest of the body as I turned to face my attacker.

The wedge shaped form of an Agamemnon carrier immediately registered on my targeting computer as it approached, it's twin high energy cannons blazing green death across the battlefield as it's vulcan cannons sliced through any mobile suit stupid enough to get close to it.

Along it's nose, printed in large bold letters, was it's name: Roosevelt.

Something stirred inside of me. My uncle was dead, just over two hundred and forty innocent civilians were dead, and now Ellion, while trying to save those precious few that might have survived the destruction of Junius Seven, had fallen in battle.

I felt anger well up within me, my hands encased in crimson pilot suit shaking madly against the control sticks.

So many people had died, and this ship, the one intel. had designated as the flagship, was the cause of it all.

She had been the one to bring nuclear weapons to the battlefield, she had been the one that brought destruction to Junius Seven.

If she had never come here, so many people would still have been alive.

"You…**BASTARDS!**"

With my rifle blazing awkwardly in my GINN's left hand, I gunned the GINN's engines and soared towards the Roosevelt, my mind suddenly sharp and clear as my resolve became absolute.

"**DIE!"**


	2. I Saw An Angel Over Heliopolis

**PHASE 01**

**I SAW AN ANGEL OVER HELIOPOLIS**

_PRESENT DAY: _

_JANUARY 25TH, COSMIC ERA: SEVENTY-ONE_

_ZAFT VESSEL VESALIUS, HELIOPOLIS LOCAL SPACE_

"_I don't like this Le Creuset, Not even in the slightest,"_

"Try not to look so frustrated Tandar," the masked man smiled calmly at the scowling bald Captain on the Vesalius' screen, "Both myself and Michaels agreed this was the best course of action we could take under these circumstances. This will all end in our favour, you'll see,"

"_A Commander she may be, but she's still only a twenty-three year old woman!"_ Tandar sighed as he ran a finger across his steel grey moustache, _"She's still young, and eager to prove herself, even after all we did at Junius Seven. I still think we should wait for a response from the Council before we rush into this,"_

"I hate to take a side, but I think Matthias may be right sir," Ades glanced up at the masked Commander stood beside his chair, "It's not to late to recall the assault ships and wait for the Council's reply,"

"It will be too late," the two Captain's winced slightly at the hard edge that suddenly developed in the Commander's voice as he turned to the holotable behind Ades' chair, "I have a sixth sense about these things. If we don't seize the moment now…" He smiled almost sinisterly as he tossed a picture his Captain's way, "Later we will pay with our lives for our reluctance to take action. The Earth Forces' new mobile weapons…we must secure them fore they attempt to move them,"

"_And what of the ship?" _Tandar frowned darkly, _"Sending in a team to retrieve the mobile weapons is risky enough, but commandeering their carrier too? The 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit was created to _evaluate _potential technologies, not steal them from under the Alliance's nose,"_

"Then think of it as returning to Aprilius One to retrieve new technology for your team to evaluate, with a slightly higher risk factor," Rau smirked, "We've both seen what Michaels and Westfield are capable of Matthias, we both know they're capable of capturing that ship with minimum losses. We must secure all of the Alliance's new weapons before they have a chance to move them. If we do not, we will surely die by their hands,"

* * *

"_I should of written my will,"_

I couldn't help but smirk to myself at the grim thought as the group of twenty soldiers flew silently through the empty vacuum of space, the immense bulk of Heliopolis dominating my vision.

Despite only being seventeen, I had actually considered writing a will once before now; seated in the cramped cockpit of a GINN, completely drenched in sweat as the invading Earth Forces fleet soared towards Junius Seven.

This was a completely different scenario however. On that nightmarish occasion I had been sitting in the cockpit of a mobile suit, Here, I had nothing but a thin excursion suit to protect me from the enemy.

All around me, nineteen other bodies, five more in red, thirteen in green and one in white, seemed to be equally on edge as we approached a maintenance hatch, the giant slabs of metal parting like some huge mechanical mouth as security lasers within winked off without a sound, the work of insiders on ZAFT's payroll no doubt.

A nudge from my white clad comrade brought me out of my thoughts the others of our team passed us by, the smiling pert features of Sara Michaels flashing me a wink through her visor as she patted me reassuringly on the shoulder, the sentiment behind it is as clear as day to me.

"_Don't look so worried Marcus,"_

I tried to smile with a nod as she pushed off into the dark void of the tunnel beyond, but deep inside me I had had a horrible feeling in my gut. A feeling that this entire operation wouldn't go as smoothly as Sara wanted it too.

* * *

The silence was finally ruptured as the sounds of a functioning shipyard echoed through my helmet's speakers from the vents below our feet.

"_So it's actually true then," _I frowned through the grate as I made out the white hull of an obscurely shaped ship, _"Orb isn't as neutral as they say it is. How could they betray our trust like this?"_

A rough shake at the shoulder brought my dark eyes up to meet the emerald ones of Athrun Zala, his stern gaze curtly informing me to get my head out of the clouds.

I merely nodded meekly as he pushed away from me, signalling to the remaining red suits and five of the green suits to follow him.

After receiving a slightly harder blow to the head from Sara, the remaining forces followed her down to a nearby access hatch as we made our way towards the giant carrier.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you Westfield?" The Commander scowled darkly in my direction from behind her helmet's visor as I flinched under her glare, "You're supposed to be a trained ZAFT elite! Stop spacing out! You're embarrassing me!"

"Sorry Ma'am," I smiled apologetically while Mira Sanchez, Valiant's tan skinned Communications officer and Stanford Canestro, a green haired pale faced engineer shared a giggle as we hid behind a pile of crate's in the legged ship's hanger, the remaining green suits moving quietly around the edges of the large bay, unseen my the Earth Forces hard at work, "I just can't shake off this bad feeling in my gut. Something doesn't feel right here,"

"Tell me about it," Michaels sighed as she slumped against the crate, "The hanger's empty. Looks like we're going ahead with Le Creuset's plan. I was really hoping his intel was wrong…"

"I think we have a bigger problem to worry about," Canestro nodded to he opposite end of the hanger, "Those big doors haven't closed yet. Looks like they're still loading up supplies. If the Hanger doors are still open when Zala's explosives go off, we're all gonna get cooked nice and crispy like,"

"How long do we have Marcus?"

I checked the watch under the fold of my glove, "I'd say about four minutes. If we can get to the controls up in the booth, we can easily close them in time,"

"So do we get up there?"

"Well, it's zero gravity in here, so it shouldn't be much of a problem, but the place is crawling with Alliance soldiers. I'd need a distract…"

"Way ahead of you," Michaels smirked as she brought her rifle to bear, "Get jumping Marcus, and make it quick. Canestro and Sanchez, follow my lead,"

"Sara, what are you…"

"HEY ALLIANCE SCUMBAGS!!!" I felt my jaw drop as my commander suddenly bounded out from our hiding place with ferocious speed, a flashbang from her belt sailing through the cavernous hanger, the stunned soldiers shielding their eyes with crises of pain and surprise as it exploded across the deck.

"Gotta hand it to our Commander," Canestro smirked as alarms suddenly blared across the shipyard, "She makes one hell of a distraction. You better get up there West," he fired a burst from his own rifle in sync with Mira beside him, the rest of our team leaping out of their hiding places as one, "You know how she gets about tardiness,"

"R…right,"

The hanger bay now dissolved into chaos as I pushed myself up into the fray, a spray of bullets belching from my rifle as I dodged past enemy fire to the catwalk that ran along the side of the hanger above me, two alliance soldiers thrown completely off the metal walkway from my assault, crimson liquid bubbling in the zero gravity from their excursion suits as several factory workers did their best to run from the sudden battlefield.

Two minutes to go. I bit my lip slightly as I tossed a flashbang into the booth, blinding white light pouring out of the large windows as the sounds of agonised screams pierced my helmet's speakers, their shouts quickly silenced as another hail of bullets erupted from my rifle into the room.

"Commander, I'm in," I glanced for only a moment at the two bodies that hung in the air, one of which was decked out in factory overalls, before checking my watch, "thirty seconds until detonation,"

"_Make it quick Marcus!"_

"Closing the hatch,"

The sound of groaning machinery was drowned out by the weapons fire from below, sweat beading down my face as my eyes darted between the massive doors that made up the front of the legs and the watch as it counted down the last few seconds.

"Come on….come on!" they weren't going to close in time. Fifteen seconds to go and the metallic doors at the end of the shipyard was still in sight. Ten seconds and the craggy rock below it was still in sight.

"Five…four…three…two…one!"

A dull thump vibrated through the ship.

The massive hanger doors closed with barely a wisp of flame surging underneath them, quickly extinguished.

ZAFT and Alliance officers alike cried out in surprise as the legged ship jarred loose of one of it's moorings, bodies and crates sent flying in all directions as I clung to the console in front of me for dear life, the ship listing violently into side of the shipyard.

There was a screech of metal against metal, a pathetic moan as the ship settled, then…silence.

My breathing was low and haggard, the sound of the alarms within the ship sounding dull in my ears as I pushed myself out of the control booth back down to the floor.

"Everyone alright?"

"I'm okay," Canestro grinned shakily as he pulled an unconscious factory worker from a pile of crates, a pair of our comrades helping a third tend to a shot to the shoulder, "More then I can say for the Naturals though. What about you Mira? You good?"

"A little shaken up, but not scorched if that's what you mean," the petite communications officer nodded as she tied up another pair of soldiers with a length of spare wire, "Commander?"

"All I can say is I want to review what Le Creuset thinks is enough explosive force to take out a small shipyard," Michaels scowled as she pulled a nearby officer out from under a pack of crates, blood bubbling from his nose in the zero gravity, "Masked idiot almost tore the ship to pieces. This looks like the last of the survivors in here. All the others are dead. Myria, take two team members and head outside and check for survivors. Capture anyone alive. They should be all pretty beat up, so they shouldn't give much of a fight. Canestro, take another two and head down to the engineering room and do the same. Marcus, you, me and the rest of us are going to storm the Bridge,"

"You're kidding right?" the engineer stared at his Commander incredulously, "Ten of us against a whole ship load of Naturals? We're Coordinators, not supermen!"

"We _should_ have taken more men with us Ma'am," I nodded in reluctant agreement, "We're not like the Le Creuset Team. We just evaluate technology…"

"Le Creuset's intel stated that the legged ship was manned by a skeleton crew. That means minimum staff in the important areas, namely the Bridge, Engineering, and the hanger bay. We've already taken care of things here, and if the way the Naturals turned out after that crash about, I doubt the rest of the crew is in any better shape," Sara grinned as she indicated to two of the green suits nearest to her, "We're not supermen, that's for sure, but compared to a ship load of beaten up Naturals, we might as well be!"

* * *

"So much for being a vital area,"

I couldn't help but smirk slightly at my Commander's despondent face as she took in the empty Bridge before us, our comrades quickly scrambling into the command centre to check for hiding enemies behind the consoles and chairs.

"I don't get it," Sara frowned as the two soldiers confirmed the Bridge to be deserted, "Where is everybody?"

"Maybe they weren't as ready to launch as we thought," I shrugged carelessly as I turned to one of the greencoats, "Stanford, you and Illum start searching the corridors. Get Canestro on the line and tell him to do the same before he starts powering up the engines. I'll get Mira and her team up here so we can start making a move on heading out,"

"Yes sir,"

"You didn't have to do that you know," Michaels glared at me with irritation as the two soldiers floated back into the elevator.

"Hm?" I removed my helmet as I pushed off towards the foreword consoles, pushing my messy brown hair out of my dark green eyes as I studied keyboard before me, "Didn't have to do what?"

"Give orders," she sighed as she pulled her own helmet off her head, her flame red ponytail drifting listlessly in the zero gravity, "Ever since Junius Seven, whenever I stop unexpectedly or even pause for thought, you seem to feel the need to fill in for me,"

"Maybe it's your imagination," images of stolen schematics flashed before my eyes as my fingers hovered over the buttons, "But Ma'am, we _are_ in kind of a hurry here. We don't have time to dawdle,"

"I know that!" I winced as I felt her azure glare trying to pierce the back of my skull, "Just…get the ship up and running, I'll recall Mira and her team,"

"Already on it," I smiled as I flipped a single switch near the steering wheel, the Bridge coming to life with a moan as the damage status screen flashed onto the computer before me, only several blotches of red in a sea of green, "Whoa…This ship takes a beating and it still comes back for more. It'd take a whole lot more then what Le Creuset just dished out to destroy her,"

"Does this ship have a name?" Sara floated down to me as she switched off her radio.

"According to this her name is…Archangel. LCAM-01XA," I tapped the corner of the screen for emphasis, "Better then calling it the Legged Ship I guess. Makes her sound like a bad stripper….OW!" I saw stars as my Commander slapped me round the back of the head, "What was that for?!"

"For having a dirty mind," Sara smirked as she leaned up against the console, "Mira's coming back, she found only one survivor, unconscious. Everyone else is either dead or crispy,"

"What's the difference?"

"She didn't find any crispy bodies,"

"Ah,"

"Canestro and Stanford have also rounded up a few survivors that were on board. Mostly factory workers. Canestro and Illum are heading back to Engineering to try and speed up the start-up process. Any word from the others?"

"No, the airwaves are still being jammed," I frowned as I activated one of the Helm's comm. screens, "Short range communication only. We'll have no way of know what's going on at Morgenroete until we get out of here. Unfortunately…" I sighed as I nodded towards the main window, "We're not going anywhere until we shift that debris,"

"I'll have Canestro work on it when he's got the time, meanwhile, see what you can do about familiarising yourself with the Helm. Mira will be up shortly to help with operations,"

"I really don't think we can do this," I shook my head as I slumped into the chair before the steering wheel, the Commander heading up to the Captain's chair, "We've only got ten people, this ship requires a skeleton crew of at least thirty…"

"It's not like we're going to take her to Jachin Due to defend the front lines," Sara smirked, "We're just getting her out of here so our techs can properly pull her apart. All we need is the engines, life support and basic weapons systems…just in case,"

"What if things went down south at Morgenroete?" I turned to face her anxiously as Mira and two other soldiers, Illum and Ryan, filed out of the elevator onto the Bridge, "Maybe it'd be better to wait here until we have a clear idea of the situation,"

"If the situation at Morgenroete has gone bad, then the Le Creuset Team will need back up," Michaels indicated to the new group and pointed to the CIC, Weapons and Fire Control, "If anything, we might be able to give the Earth Forces something else to shoot at," she picked up the phone embedded in the Chair's armrest, "Canestro, any ideas on how to get the rubble moved?"

"_Maybe. I've found something interesting in the ship's database that might be of use,"_ The engineer's face appeared on the main screen above the windows, _"Turns out, this baby's equipped with something called the Lohengrin. It's basically a positron blaster cannons, two of 'em, practically capable of annihilating anything in their way. If we fire a low yield blast directly in front of us, we should blow everything away, doors included,"_

I turned to face the Commander quickly, "He's not serious?"

"Do you really think he'd suggest it if he wasn't?"

"Commander, with respect to Canestro, we have no idea the kind of power this Lohengrin possess! A low yield blast could rip a hole through the loading dock and straight out the other side of the colony! These people are neutral. It's not their fault their government betrayed them to the alliance…"

"If you have a better idea Marcus," Sara's eyes narrowed, "You better spit it out,"

"I don't," I scowled darkly, "You know I don't. I'm just saying there has to be another way,"  
"At this moment in time, we have no idea what is going on beyond the walls of this shipyard," Sara sighed as she leaned back in the Captain's chair, "Maybe Zala and co. have already captured the mobile weapons and are waiting impatiently for us to arrive, maybe they're all dead and we're all that's left. The point is we don't know, and if we can get out there and give them a hand, I'd much rather do that then sit here waiting to be rescued. I wouldn't want to give Le Creuset the satisfaction,"

"_There's more to life then trying to get one up over the Masked Man," _I frowned slightly as I returned to the steering wheel, _"Why does she always feel the need to prove herself? Maybe youth and command…just don't mix well,"_

"Attention all hands, this is Commander Michaels," Sara's voice broke my thoughts as she picked up the armrest mounted phone, "Stand by for launch sequence. From the data before me, we can speed up the start-up process by omitting programs C-30 through L-21. Canestro, start up main power,"

"_Roger. Main power online,"_

"Output increase is stable," various diagnostic screens danced before my eyes as the mammoth vessel slowly began to hum with energy, "We still need four hundred fifty seconds for the required rating though,"

"Too long!" I winced at my Commander's harsh tone, "Canestro, what's the status of the conduits to Heliopolis?"

"_Undamaged Ma'am. What did you have in mind?"_

"Set us up to draw power through them. Get the conduits online and relay power to the accumulator,"

"_Connection confirmed…power flow stable…Hey West, how's it look on your end?"_

"Much better, only twenty seconds until we hit the required rating," I turned back to smirk at my Commander, "Any better?"

The redhead merely returned the gesture, "_Much_ better Westfield. All hands report in,"

"Life support systems…normal," Ryan's eyes darted across his screen, "CIC coming online,"

"Weapons systems online," Illum nodded from his seat beside mine, "FSC Contact. Magnetic field chamber and pellet dispenser…functioning and stable,"

"Maintaining external impact damper and maximum output," a frown crossed Mira's tanned face, "Still nothing on all communication frequencies,"

"Linking main power," I gripped the steering wheel tightly as Archangel slowly rose up from it's resting place, levelling out as it reached the centre of the ruined shipyard, "Engines…stable. All Archangel systems online. Aside from the fact we still don't have communications, we're ready to head out,"

"If going in deaf is the least of our problems Westfield, we'll be getting off lucky," Sara merely smiled as she leaned back in the Captain's chair, "Seal all bulkheads. All hands, prepare for sudden impacts as well as possible damage to the ship as we depart. Marcus…

Let's get the hell out of here!"

* * *

"The power pack…which one is that?"

"The weapons and power pack are integrated. Mount the whole unit!"

"Geez, why does she have to be so bossy?" Miriallia sent a scowl the Murrue Ramius' way from around the side of the cargo truck, "Kira's doing his best…it's not like he's a Alliance soldier or anything,"

"Yeah, that's true," Sai chuckled slightly as the Strike crouched down before them, "Can't really blame her though. I mean Kira might not be a soldier, but that woman definitely is. Once more, she's currently one of the most dangerous," he gave his friend a pointed look over the rims of his glasses, "A cornered one. As far as she knows, she's all alone, with no back-up, the enemy on all sides and only a handful of kids at her disposal," he smiled reassuringly, "I think we can give her some slack on her bossy attitude…"

"Wrong," Miriallia scowled darkly from beneath her light brown bangs, "I don't give slack to anyone who points a gun in my face to get us to do what she wants," she sent another hateful glance the Lieutenant's way, "I don't care what she says…she has no right to keep us here or exploit Kira in this way,"

Sai sighed with a simple shrug as Kuzzey came round the front of the cab to lean against it's door, "If you say so,"

"I _do_ say so," the young girl sighed as she turned her gaze to the strips of land above their heads, the alarms sounding almost feeble as they carried to cry out across the deserted colony, "The evacuation orders are still in effect, I guess,"

"Sure sounds like it," Sai sighed again as he pushed his glasses up his nose, "I hope my father and the others made it to the shelters safely…"

"Honestly, I just think this whole mess is a waste of time," Kuzzey groaned as he put his hands behind his head and lent up against the cab door, "I just want to hurry up with this and go home…What was that!?"

Miriallia barely had time to look up as Heliopolis rumbled from a explosion high above her head, the fiery cloud that bloomed from the central support quickly dissipating as a pure white mobile suit flew out into the habitation area, a bright orange mobile armour hot on it's heels.

"W…what's going on?" Kuzzey steeped back from the truck uneasily as Tolle came up beside his girlfriend, "Are they going to fight inside the colony? What…AGH!!!"

Miriallia let out a small scream as the armour screamed overhead, her boyfriend's arm coming protectively around her waist as she was sprayed with sand and grit from the parkland floor.

"Mount the equipment before it's too late!!!"

Ramius' cry feel on deaf ears as she pulled herself out of Tolle's grasp, her boyfriend shouting her name lost in the noises of the battle above as she ran to the shelter of a nearby tree.

There was something…important going on here.

The two machines almost seemed to dance across the air above her, armour and suit circling each other in criss-cross patterns as weapons fire sliced across the void between them.

Then the suit got the upper hand.

Watching from her position beneath the tree, she could only stare as the suit managed to get behind it's orange opponent, the armour's linear gun cleaved in two with a single sweep of the white machine's sword as the alliance pilot swung by.

With his opponent effectively disabled, a gasp of horror escaped Miriallia's throat as the white suit suddenly plummeted towards the artificial ground, the Strike clearly within it's sights as it primed it's rifle.

"KIRA, LOOK OUT!!!"  
The weapons pack attacked to the Strike's back with a metallic clunk, the metal greys quickly replaced with it's more colourful scheme of red white and blue as the massive mech rose to it's feet.

Then…something else exploded.

Bracing herself against the tree as the ground seemed to threaten to break apart beneath her feet, Miriallia could only stare as the sleek double hull of a gleaming white space ship emerged from the remains of the hill, the long 'legs' quickly joining to form a single hull as the vessel fully emerged.

For a moment, she felt safe. Watching the vessel glide out over the colony, Miriallia felt a strong presence reflected in the ship's size and immense weaponry. Everything was as it should be, she could almost smile…

Until the massive vessel tilted, and a single massive double barrelled turret extended from the hull and rotated to aim it's firepower in the Strike's direction.

"_Attention Earth Alliance Forces, this is Commander Sara Michaels of the ZAFT Organisation. We have captured the vessel designated Archangel, four of your five prototypes are in our custody, and ZAFT warships currently within this colony's territory. Surrender the final unit and come quietly, or you _will _be destroyed. This is your only warning, what is your answer?"_

And as the harsh female voice seemed to echo over the abandoned colony, Miriallia suddenly felt that things…had gone terribly wrong.

* * *

_PRODUCTION NUMBER: GAT-X105_

_CODENAME: STRIKE_

Suffice to say, I felt the end of this operation had been…sloppy…to say the least.

_HEIGHT: 17.72 METRES_

_STANDALONE WEIGHT: 64.8 METRIC TONS_

Despite having reportedly held it's own against a GINN, even with it's newly acquired weapon attached to it's back, the last prototype had quickly stood down when it's pilot found itself looking down the barrel of the weapon the computer banks designated Gottfried. Perhaps it had been on the orders of the officer that had relayed the surrender to the Archangel rather then the pilot's own will though.

_UNIT TYPE: PROTOTYPE ALL-PURPOSE MULTI-MODE MOBILE SUIT_

_MANUFACTURER: MORGENROETE, INC_

Not that it really mattered either way.

The five machines had been collected, Archangel was now under our control, and the Vesalius, Gamow and Valiant hung in orbit over the subdued Heliopolis. The first part of our mission had been completed. Now it was just a case of loading the machines up, taking on a larger crew of one hundred personal to insure a more smoother operation, as well as insuring all supplies and technology related to the new mobile suits was either captured or destroyed.

"Hey there,"

I blinked in surprise as I looked up from the Strike's terminal to the open hatch, a small smile gracing my lips as I took in the green hair and brown eyes of Nicol Amalfi as he pulled himself onto the edge of the suit's open cockpit

"Hullo," I nodded in greeting as I set the diagnostic to automatic, "Are you done with your unit's data extraction?"

"Yep. Designation GAT-X207, Codename Blitz," the redcoat smiled good-naturedly, "Your techs from the Valiant are recharging it now. I have to admit, they sure are an efficient bunch of people," he turned his head to the hanger as a green and red suit lumbered by, "Considering you were all brought in at the last moment, I'm honestly surprised, they don't even seem fazed by the disruption…"

"We are a Technical Evaluation Unit, not a battle group," I smiled fondly as I watched the data flow across my screen, "You give us technology, chances are we'll probably tell you how it works and what to do with it by the end of the day, maximum. Put us in a tactical situation…" I shrugged slightly, "Well…the outcome varies from situation to situation," I frowned, my mood suddenly sullen, "I just wish…there had been less casualties,"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Nicol fidgeted slightly in his excursion suit, "Rusty was…a good friend," he looked up at me suddenly, "I don't hold it against you though. You know, for running this diagnostic and everything. I can't hold following orders against you,"

"That's…decent of you," I smiled slightly, before turning back to the screens before me, "For what it's worth…I'm sorry for your loss,"

"Yeah, me too…but the time for mourning will be later, when we're back on Aprilius One," he smiled at me determinately, "Right now, we've got to focus on the mission, right?"

I smiled with a nod.

"Ri-"  
"Nicol? What are you doing up there!?"

The green-haired teen's face suddenly paled.

"Uh-oh…Yzak,"

The diagnostic complete, I set the database to download the data into the portable terminal, before heaving my body out of the cockpit chair to gaze down to the Archangel's Hanger deck, my eyebrows hiking up as I took in the white hair and angry scowl that adorned the redcoat's face, his blue eyes narrowed to slits.

With a small smirk, I couldn't help but notice the family resemblance to his mother.

"Oh, it's you," Yzak's scowl seemed to deepen as I pulled down the debarkation cable from the hatch above me, Nicol waiting patiently as I descended to the ground, "What do you think you're doing? Who gave you permission to touch this machine?"

"I'm not sure you really have the authority to ask," I regarded the younger man quietly, "But since you did _so_ politely, Commander Le Creuset requested I perform the data extraction in Rusty Mackenzie's place. I do work for a Technical Evaluation Unit…it's kind of in my job description,"

"Whatever," the pilot seemed to have etched that scowl directly into his face, "He probably only requested you because Miguel had to return to Vesalius. You're not exactly a part of the Le Creuset Team…" he trailed off as I tried to smother a small chuckle, his face darkening with anger as Nicol came down from the Strike's cockpit behind me, "What's so funny?"

"You really are Ezalia Joule's son," I shook my head in mock-disbelief, "You're both…so full of yourselves,"

"What you say!?" Yzak flared angrily, a threatening step forward quickly subdued as Nicol moved to restrain his friend, "What did you say about my mother!? You take that back!!!"

"November 19th, 69 CE," My own green orbs narrowed as Joule faltered in his aggressive stance, "I was summoned to your mother's office, on the day of my graduation I might add, to receive my first assignment as an Engineer of the 608th Technical Evaluation Unit; The XASC-76A Jörmungandr, a experimental superweapon designed to take out vessels the size of a Nelson in a single shot. We were to evaluate the weapon during the Battle at L4, but we were never given any tactical data. We were never part of the battle plan, and we lost good men as a result," I scowled darkly, "I made it a point never to accept technology from your mother again as a result,"

"Yeah well…You're not exactly Mr. Perfect either," Yzak smirked, "Marcus Westfield; the flying Engineer who avenged the lost souls of Junius Seven to the Roosevelt…by plunging his GINN into the Bridge,"

Something twitched in my eye, "My right arm had been severed and the ship was getting away. It was the only way to stop it," I looked away in disgust, "I'm an engineer first, a pilot second…"

"Exactly, you're_ not_ a pilot. The destruction of the Roosevelt was sloppy and based on pure luck! Heck, the only reason you guys were brought in was because you were close by and we needed the ship…"

"That's _enough_ Yzak,"

I blinked in surprise as another voice entered the conversation, the owner's green eyes casting a stony glare the disbelieving Joule's way as he approached.

"Zala," I nodded respectfully.

"Westfield," he mirrored the gesture before turning to his comrade, "Marcus Westfield is a decorated soldier Yzak, you would do well to show him some respect…"

"Respect to a guy who destroyed a warship by accident?" Joule scoffed, "Fat chance,"

"He did more the destroy the Roosevelt. He is a _veteran_ of the battle at Junius Seven," Athrun smirked slightly as Dearka came up behind him, "He may not have made the most kills, and he might not have been the most skilled pilot there. But he fought valiantly to protect Junius Seven, and even though he and his comrades failed, they deserve our respect for their efforts,"  
"I dunno," Dearka smirked slightly, "They did kinda fail and all…"

"But they _tried_," Athrun shot his comrade a dirty look over his shoulder, "No one knew the Alliance would stoop to such lows as to use nuclear missiles against the PLANTs…"

Athrun's voice seemed to drift off as I felt something flash within my mind; a strange pressure almost as though someone was pushing against my brain until I looked in the right direction…

And let my eyes fall on a small group of seven as they were led by armed escort through the hanger towards the innards of the ship, a pilot, a factory worker and five…children.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

With barely a nod to my surprised comrades as a means of dismissing myself, I quickly ran across the deck towards the surprised soldiers, the captured blond pilot gazing sharply in my direction out of the corner of his eye as I approached.

"What's going on?" the greencoat turned to me uneasily as he motioned for his comrades to continue onward, "Who are these people?"

"Sir," the soldier hesitantly saluted, "I'm not actually sure…I was just told to escort the adults to the Brig and the younger ones to separate quarters…"

"Surely you have some idea? Alliance prisoners? Heliopolis colonists?"

"I…erm…"

"Ugh, this is getting us nowhere. Excuse me," I quickly set my hand on the bare shoulder of the last of the group as she passed by, her body freezing under my touch as she turned to face me with wary brown eyes, "I know this might sound a bit rude but…what rank are you?"

"Hey!" I didn't look up as the young brown haired teen before her suddenly turned around to pull his friend away from me angrily, his wrath barely held back by the alarmed soldier beside me as his friends watched on in bewilderment, "Let her go!"

"Please, answer the question,"

She didn't fully turn around. She just stared at me over her shoulder for a moment more, before turning her attention stubbornly on her shoes.

"E…excuse me?"

"Rank. Lieutenant? Ensign? Warrant?"

"I…I don't have a rank. I'm a civilian…"

"Civilian?" even the young teen, presumably her boyfriend, stopped squirming as the answer came almost as quiet as a whisper, "I wasn't aware we were taking on any civilians,"

"Like I said sir, I was just ordered to take the adults to the Brig at the teens to the private quarters," the greencoat shrugged helplessly, "You'll have to ask Commander Le Creuset about it,"

"Alright…alright," I tried to smile reassuringly for the young girl, but she just continued to stare at her shoes, her boyfriend going several angry shades of red as I patted her gingerly on the shoulder, "This isn't a cruise liner, neither is the colony damaged enough to warrant evacuating any stray colonists we find," I turned to the soldier, "Have one of you take the adults to the Brig as ordered, but you remain here with the rest until I get some answers from the Commander.

Something about this…just doesn't sit right with me,"

* * *

"I see…and you're sure about this?"

"_Yes sir: three Nelsons and two Drakes. It's far too big to be a patrol fleet, and none of their paths come this close to Heliopolis anyway,"_ Ades frowned uneasily on the Communication screen, _"Either they were on their way here before we attacked, or the radio blackout has been going on for too long and someone's gotten suspicious. Regardless, they will be here within half an hour,"_

"I see," Rau frowned beneath his mask, a movement unseen by either the Captain or Sara Michaels who stood by his side, "Very well. Find Miguel a new GINN and order all pilots to stand by. I will be returning to the Vesalius shortly,"

"_Understood,"_

"What about the prototypes?" Sara cast her comrade a sideways glance as the screen clicked off, "Are we just going leave them in storage?"

"No. If we are facing these odds we shall need as many suits as we can deploy," Rau turned his gaze to the nearby Strike, "The data extraction is almost complete on all five machines. If anything this will show these machines' true potential…and against their own creators no less. I suppose when you think about it, some might call it…poetic,"

"Yes…well…" Sara smirked slightly, "I guess you and I travel in different poetic circles Le Creuset. Who did you have in mind for the pilot of the X105?"

The fellow Commander never replied.

"Commander Le Creuset!"

"Mr. Westfield?" Rau regarded the redcoat with curiously as he came a halt in front of the two Commanders, his breathing slightly laboured from sprinting across the Hanger, "Is there a problem?"

"Sir…why are we taking on civilians?" Marcus lent against the wall slightly as he caught his breath, "The colony isn't in need of abandonment, we don't need to take on anybody we don't need,"

"Hm? Ah yes, the children found with the X105," The Commander looked back along the route the soldier had come to where the soldier and smaller group stood near the rear of the hanger. He indicated to the greencoat to continue with his orders, "Following the surrender of the final unit, these five students were found to be aiding an Earth Alliance Officer in moving the machine. One of them was even piloting it. As such, I feel it is necessary to keep them under surveillance until we can determine their risk to this operation,"

"But Sir, they're only students, they can't be much younger then me or Commander Michaels!" Sara scowled darkly at the comment as Rau indicated to the remaining pilots to come over, "They're neutral citizens. Even if their government betrayed them, that doesn't give us the right to treat them like enemies and take them away from their families like this!"

"What would you have him do Westfield?" Sara cocked an eyebrow in mild amusement, "Just let them go? After they've seen this ship, the prototypes and at least a hundred ZAFT soldiers milling about the place? Sorry, but I'm with Le Creuset on this. We'll keep them here for now until we can figure out what they know and how to keep them quiet. It's not like we're keeping them in the brig like the Alliance soldiers though. We've assigned them separate quarters, keeping them comfortable," she shot Rau a sharp glance as the prototype pilots approached, "We _are_ keeping them comfortable right?"

"But of course," the masked man smiled almost reassuringly, "But right now we have bigger problems to deal with. Gentlemen…" he turned to the pilots, his expression suddenly solemn, "Ades has informed us that a small Alliance battle fleet is approaching Heliopolis, and will be here within half an hour. Considering the total hanger size for three Nelson and two Drake Class warships, it is a safe assumption that we will be heavily outnumbered. As such, the five prototypes will also be put into action with our GINNs in an attempt to bolster our numbers. The Archangel will also head out into space shortly in order to assist our ships. Mr. Westfield," the same almost reassuring smile crossed the Commander's lips, "You will be the X105's designated pilot until further notice,"

"Me, Sir?" Marcus' eyes widened in surprise as Yzak's jaw dropped to the vicinity of his ankles, "But I thought Aiman…"

"Miguel is a capable pilot, but then so are you," Rau continued to smile that same almost reassuring smile, "Why waste resources transferring one pilot back here, when we have a perfectly able one already on the scene? I'm sure another helmsman can be found for the Archangel…"

"It's a steering wheel and a few buttons and levers," Sara shrugged with a smirk, "Anyone with a half decent driving licence should be able to handle,"

"Then we are in agreement," Yzak seemed to have lost all ability to speak by this point, "Westfield will be assigned the X105, and all five of you shall sortie in twenty-three minutes. I'm heading back to the Vesalius to take control of the operation from there. Michaels, the Archangel is yours. As such, I'm placing the prototype pilots under your jurisdiction…"

"WHAT!?!" Yzak's voice suddenly returned to him, "WE'RE GETTING TRANSFERRED TO _HER_ TEAM!?!"

"Looks that way," Michaels smirked dangerously as she shot Joule a matching stare, "Got a problem with that, Old Man?"

"Oh trust us," Dearka smiled apologetically as his hand slapped itself across Yzak's mouth, "He's got no problem with that whatsoever!"

* * *

One major note here: I'm not sure if Archangel's cargo bay actually has a booth to operate the doors and such. I just added it here because it was needed.

Hope you enjoyed,

Dearing


	3. A Taste of Conflict

**PHASE 02**

**A TASTE OF CONFLICT**

Once again, as I sat within the cramped confines of the Strike's cockpit, my brain decided to remind me how much I hated excursion suits.

They were tight, uncomfortable and only added to the claustrophobic environment of a mobile suit cockpit.

It was also a well known fact that nine times out ten, the shot that pieces the cockpit destroys the machine. The fact that Rau Le Creuset often went out without one seemed to only prove to me even the Commanders thought they were worthless. But alas, I was but a simple engineer, and if _my_ Commander curtly informed me to set an example and wear my excursion suit with pride, I pretty much had no say in the matter.

…

Though I was really going to need a shower after all this.

"_Hey Marcus, are you there?"_

I glanced up at the communication screen above my head as Mira's voice came over the speakers, the greencoat's voice uncertain as she smiled uneasily.

"_How you holding up?"_

"All things considered, I'd rather be on the Bridge then in here," I smiled weakly, "Are you the Combat Operator for this mission?"

She nodded in confirmation, _"__Yes, for the moment at least. Unlike the other four machines, the Strike can be equipped with different weapon packs for different situations. For this reason, you will be launched first, but the type of weapons pack is up to you. You may choose between a general weapons pack with higher mobility and a pair of extra beam sabers, a heavy weapons pack which is equipped with a 320mm impulse cannon, 120mm anti-ship vulcan gun and 350mm gun launchers, or a Melee pack which includes a fifteen metre long anti-ship blade, a rocket anchor mounted to the forearm, and a beam boomerang,__"_

"You make it sound like I'm choosing a holiday package,"

"_Sorry," _Mira laughed nervously, _"So…which is it going to be?"_

"Considering we have four warships on our side, I don't think heavy firepower is going to be an issue, and melee can be unpredictable in large scale battles. Just send me out with the general mount. If I need anything else, I'll just come back,"

"_Roger that. Setting you up with Aile Striker Pack. It will be waiting for you on the catapult deck,"_

"Roger that,"

"_Alright gents, listen up,"_ Mira had barely disappeared from the screen when Sara abruptly took her place, my second comm. Screen dividing into four to reveal Athrun, Nicol, Dearka and Yzak, all suited up and ready to go, _"The Alliance is almost on our doorstep, and the carriers are already bleeding Moebius units all over the local area. Westfield, get the Strike to the Catapult One. Zala, move to Catapult Two,"_

"_Roger that,"_

"Yes Ma'am,"

"_Gentlemen, this is how it is going to play out,"_ My Commander smirked as I pushed my machine out from it's maintenance bay towards the catapult deck, _"Due to the limited time we have before the Alliance forces arrive, we need to get the Archangel out of Heliopolis' habitable area. As such, we're going to use the vessel's Lohengrin positron cannon to create an exit through the side of the colony to make a quick escape,"_

"The Lohengrin?" I shifted uneasily, "Commander, is it really okay to start blowing holes through the side of the colony?"

"_We're not exactly going to start carving Heliopolis up like a turkey dinner Westfield,"_ Michaels smirked slightly, _"Damage thus far to the colony has been minimal, it's not going to break apart from one giant blast through one of it's window sections. The colony is also large enough to insure that the air won't completely drain in three seconds flat, and all colonists not aboard the Archangel are reported to be within the shelters anyway. Following the blast form the Lohengrin, Westfield and Zala will launch immediately, followed by Elsmen and Joule and finally Amalfi. Your main objective is the protection of the Archangel. We've put a lot of work into it's capture, the last thing we need is for it to be destroyed before we've even left Heliopolis. Secondary objectives are the protection of the Vesalius, Gamow, Valiant and if needs be Heliopolis itself. Leave the warships alone unless otherwise stated, the ships and other squads will handle them,"_

"That's_ what you're making us do?"_ Yzak stared ahead incredulously, _"Babysitting duty? We've been handed machines that could possibly outclass the GINN, and you're giving us the task of making sure the Naturals don't scratch the paint?"_

"_If it were up to me, I wouldn't be sending you out at all!!"_ Sara's eyes narrowed to slits as the Strike was locked into the launch frame and moved into position, _"Data can only give you so much Joule. I'd much rather have kept the mobile weapons away from the fighting until we returned to the PLANTs. As it is however, we didn't expect to run into such a large force, and our own forces are too small to adequately fend the Naturals off and protect an extra ship. So stop complaining and carry out the orders assigned to you. Understood?"_

"_But…"_

"Understood…_Joule?"_

"_Yes…Ma'am,"_

"_Open Number One Container! Attach Aile Striker!"_

The blare of alarms divided my attention as various hatches around my machine opened up, a shield and rifle held out to each hand as a larger thruster assembly was attached to the Strike's back.

"So…beam sabers and an assault rifle to complement the knifes and vulcan cannons," I couldn't help but smile slightly as I fully powered up my machine, the hiss of the phase shift armour sounding dull in my ears, "Little more power then the GINNs I'm used to, but better more then less I guess…Hm?" I frowned as I the screens flashed on before me, the operational system flashing across the monitor in red and black.

MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM

///Version NV8 - N099////

General

Unilateral

Neuro - Link

Dispersive

Autonomic

Maneuver

G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis System

O.M.N.I. Enforcer

"Gun…dam…,"

"_Earth Alliance forces inbound,"_ A voice I didn't recognise pierced my thoughts as it came from behind Sara, _"They've engaged our forces outside the colony,"_

"_Alright, we need to move. Westfield, Zala, we're opening the catapult doors now. Once we've pierced the Colony's wall, we're sending you out understand?"_

"Roger,"

"_Roger that,"_

I grimaced irritably as the massive doors at the end of the catapult deck opened onto reflected sunshine, the rumble of the Lohengrin being deployed beneath my feet vibrating through my suit. The last thing I really needed was to be blinded before heading out into combat.

"_Detecting incoming forces…confirmed Moebius units!"_

"_Lohengrin, FIRE!!!"_

With an electronic roar, the powerful positron cannons erupted with in a burst of orange light, the two beams quickly combining into a single beam of white as it surged across the colony.

The window didn't stand a chance.

With little to no pressure, the beam sliced through the thick glass like a knife through paper, large cracks forming around the newly created hole as it's edges were reduced to a molten state. By the time the beam had died, a space that could easily hold the Archangel twice over stained the pristine window like a cigarette burn, the force of the local air being sucked out into the vacuum beyond buffeting the carrier as it approached.

"_Your course is clear,"_ Mira's voice came in sharply as I blinked furiously to rid my vision of the spots that danced across it, _"Aegis and Strike, you are cleared to launch,"_

"_Roger. Athrun Zala, Aegis launching!"_

"Understood. Marcus Westfield…" my helmet's visor came down with a click as the Strike's thrusters thrummed with energy, three red lights quickly changing to green above my head, "X105 Strike Gundam, heading out!"

As the force of the catapult thrust me back into my chair, a small part of my mind registered the addition to the Strike's usual name. All this was forgotten however as I flew out into the void. For the briefest of instances, time seemed to stop. Ahead of me was a sea of stars, a billion trillion points of light standing out against the darkness of space, the light of the sun, so far away, glinting off the mirrors above me and the windows behind me.

Then a Moebius ruined the moment.

"AGH!!!"

I barely managed to pull my rifle to bear as the mobile armour suddenly seemed to shoot out of nowhere, my enhanced brain reacting faster then my Natural opponent.

The poor guy didn't even manage to fire a single shot before his cockpit was pocketed with several blasts from my beam rifle, the missiles it had been carrying underneath quickly detonating mere moments later.

Then his friends followed…and I fell into hell.

* * *

"Archangel reports all mobile suits launched," the communications officer turned to Ades and Le Creuset behind him, "As per orders, she's recording all combat data for further evaluation of the prototype mobile weapons,"

"I still can't believe we're sending those machines out so early after their capture," the Captain drummed his fingers against the armrest, "Half an hour is hardly what I would call adequate time to reprogram that trash the Naturals tried to pass off as an OS…"

"I would disagree,"

"Oh?"

"It's true, the first four captured units' Operation Systems were inadequate," Rau smiled slightly as he read through the hurriedly compiled reports in his lap, as though the battle before him was nothing more than entertainment, "If a Natural had attempted to use these machines, I would very much doubt their effectiveness in combat. Mr. Westfield's report however indicates the fifth unit, X105 Strike, had a perfectly operational OS when he began the data extraction. One that theoretically could surpass the one we use for the GINN in every regard,"

"Wasn't that the unit that downed Miguel?"

"Yes, but if you will remember, even this machine seemed to perform within the expectations of the OS seen on the other four machines in the beginning. It was only halfway through the battle, when we believe that child that was discovered in the cockpit upon it's capture took over the unit from Lieutenant Ramius, did the Strike manage to disable Miguel's GINN,"

"He reprogrammed the OS himself? In the middle of a battle?" Ades whistled between his teeth, "That must be some genius Natural…"  
"No Ades, not a Natural," Rau smirked at his comrade's surprise as a nearby Moebius detonated under a volley of fire from the Buster as it soared by, the first of the Drakes exploding under fire from the Archangel in the distance, "Even now, it is unlikely that machine could be piloted by anyone with unaltered genes. No…I believe that young man…just might be…a Coordinator,"

* * *

"How are they holding up Sanchez?"

"All the machines look good, although Joule is complaining that he wanted more time to test the Duel's OS," Mira smirked slightly, "The only problem I'm seeing is this beam technology combined with the Phase Shift armour is draining the battery, and we didn't have enough time to fully charge them all before we headed out. It's not really a problem at the moment, but if this becomes a long term battle…like the one over Junius Seven…"  
"I hear you," Sara bit her lip as she turned her pale blue eyes back to the battle before her, "We need to end this quickly, otherwise we run the risk of leaving our new toys adrift and sitting ducks," she watched carefully as the Valiant and the Gamow moved in against a cornered Nelson, debris and shrapnel spraying off in multiple directions as their combined beam blasts carved through the onyx vessel's hull, "What's the death count?"

"Honestly? We're slaughtering them," Ryan grimaced slightly, "Unfortunately, it's not really a question strength, more like numbers. Quantity over quality. The Gamow's already lost two of it's GINNs…"

"Ma'am…I'm getting some strange reports in from the Strike,"

"Westfield?" Michaels bit her lip slightly, her hands clenching the armrests tightly, "What's that idiot doing now?"

"He's being pushed away from the battle group Ma'am," Mira put a hand to her ear piece as she listened to her comrade's panicked voice, "He says…they're not Moebius units," she cast an alarmed look the Commander's way, "Strike identifies units as Cosmograspers!"

"What!?"

* * *

"That's what I said, Cosmograspers!" I bit my lip angrily as gatling gun fire rattled off my shield, my returning fire missing the space planes by inches, "I'm counting at least five of them; FXet-565, they look like jet fighters with a long range cannon mounted on the fuselage. I've also seen a pair of mid-range cannons and two gatling guns slung underneath. They're also…" I smiled grimly as a beam blast sliced through an attackers engine, the jet careening out of control into it's wing-mate as the remaining three scattered, "…incredibly fast. They keep pushing me away from the ship," a short alarm suddenly flared up, "And I'm down to the last fifteen percent of my energy supply,"

"_I've just skimmed Archangel's database. Apparently, those Cosmograspers were for us…sort of,"_ Mira smirked slightly, _"They were designed primarily to deploy your Striker packs in space without the need to return to the ship,"  
_"Yeah, well right now they're doing a terrific job keeping me _away _from the ship," I cast my rifle aside in favour of a beam saber, "And I could _really_ use some back-up over here!!!"

"_Someone call for back-up?"_

Had I looked away, I might have missed it, for as the third grasper soared across my camera, the onyx form of the Blitz abruptly seemed to materialise out of nowhere, the pilot ejecting as his craft was speared by the offence/defence system's beam saber

"Now _that_ is an impressive system," I smirked as I managed to slice the engine off the forth machine, the other pilot ejecting before his machine exploded as the final fighter took off back towards his home ship, his comrades clinging to the fuselage, "They might not be good and building decent OSs, but at least the Alliance knows how to equip their machines. Thanks for the assistance,"

"_Any time,"_ Nicol smirked with a mock salute, _"How's your energy reserves?"_

"It'll get me back to the Archangel," I smiled as I pushed the Strike back towards the stolen carrier, "I'll have Mira load the next Striker Pack…" I paused as another alert sounded in my cockpit, directing my eyes to the Nelsons on my right.

"Hey Nicol…is it me, or does the Alliance's aim look a bit…off?"

Nicol never replied, for at that moment, as the second Drake exploded under combined missile salvo of several GINNs, the Nelsons' cannons opened fire, a full blast beam barrage smashing against the side…of Heliopolis.

* * *

"What the hell?!"

Sara could only stare, her mouth agape, as beams of emerald green sliced arced over Archangel's Bridge and slammed into the side of the colony on either side of the hole that had already been gouged in the cylinder's side by the Lohengrin. Glass and other debris scattered in all directions as blast after blast smashed into Heliopolis, the colony's rotation only serving to scatter the damage across a wider area.

"What the hell I they doing!?" The Commander turned around in a rage to face Ryan, "Why are they attacking Heliopolis!? There are innocent people down there!!!"

"I…I don't know!" the blond's hands flew across his console in a panic, "But we've reduced their mobile armour numbers to near zero and destroyed both Drakes and a Nelson. They must be running out options…"  
"How exactly is turning this skirmish into another Junius Seven an option?!" Sara's eyes suddenly widened with realisation, "No…not Junius Seven…They're trying to get Heliopolis to release her lifeboats, give us something to worry about!"

"If those lifeboats launch…" Mira seemed to pale, "It'll cause chaos on the battlefield…"

"Rely new orders to Zala and Elsmen," the Commander rose quickly from her chair, "They're to eliminate the Nelsons by any means necessary, top priority. Where's the Strike?"

"Still too far away," Sanchez wiped the sweat from her eyes, "We can have the Launcher Striker ready and waiting for him, but it'll still be another five minutes before he gets here, and another five in order to…"

"That's too long. We have to get the Striker to the Strike quickly…what about that Moebius Zero we captured? Is it still flyable?"

"Flyable? Yes," Mira nodded, "But all four pods and it's linear gun have been completely destroyed, any pilot would be going in defenceless…"  
"Right now, the Launcher Striker is the most powerful mobile suit weapon we've got on hand," Sara pushed off her chair towards the elevators, "Have the engineers rig a tow cable between the Moebius Zero and the Striker by the time I get down there. In the meantime, try and down those ships as fast as you can, use the Lohengrin if you think you can miss our own troops,"

"You…you're going out there yourself Ma'am?" Illum stared back at her in horror, "But you'll be completely defenceless!!!"

"I won't let the Earth Alliance destroy this colony just to provide a distraction," Michaels scowled as the elevator doors opened up, "If getting the Striker to that idiot results in the colony's safety, but the cost of my life…so be it,"

* * *

"She's doing what?!" I blinked up at Mira in surprise as I recovered my rifle, "Crazy bitch! What the hell does she think she's doing, going into a battlefield with no weaponry whatsoever!?"

"_Just be ready for where when she arrives," _Sanchez shifted uneasily in her chair, _"ETA is three minutes. Get ready to detach the Aile Striker. Once Launcher Striker is attached, engage the Nelsons at will. They are top priority, Understand?"_

"They're trying to blow the colony to smithereens to create chaos on an already chaotic battlefield," I scowled darkly as a flash of orange flickered at the edge of my vision, "They need to be stopped, even I don't need eyes to see that. Nicol, you've still got energy, go help Athrun and Dearka. I'll see if I can't cut that three minutes down a bit,"

"_Roger,"_

"She's crazy," I shook my head as I watched the Blitz depart, "It's like she has nothing left to live for. That said…" I frowned as I deactivated the Phase Shift armour, pushing all my remaining energy reserves into the thrusters, "With all that's happened recently…I wonder…if she actually believes that…"

* * *

"_Are they for real?"_ Dearka grimaced in disgust on Athrun's Communications screen, _"Attacking the colony itself just to cause chaos? Just when I thought the Naturals couldn't get any lower,"_

"What's why we show them no mercy," Athrun scowled darkly, "Miguel, what's the targets status?"

"_Almost scrap metal," _The GINN pilot grinned, _"Never say no to back-up though,"_

"Right, we'll leave the last one to the Vesalius," Zala frowned as the final Nelson suddenly took off towards the ZAFT fleet, "Looks like it's heading in for the kill…it's suicide…" his eyes widened in horror, "Oh shit!"

* * *

"It _is_ suicide!" I braced myself against my chair as the final Nelson soared overhead, it's beam cannons firing blast after blast as it's hull became scorched and pocket marked from the last desperate assaults by my comrade's ships, "It's a suicide _run_! It's not the colonists they're after, it's a Scorched Earth policy!"

"_If the Alliance can't have the Archangel and the prototype, no one can. Dammit, we stayed too close to the Colony!" _Sara slammed her fist into her cockpit's side, _"Archangel and the other ships will be torn to shreds by the debris, and the chaos that will ensue by the lifeboats will just be the icing on the cake!_ _Westfield, stand by, you're only going to have one shot at this. Mount the Launcher, then blow that Nelson to hell and back, Understand?"_

"Don't need to tell me twice," I gripped the controls tightly as the stripped down form of the ruined Moebius Zero soared towards me, "Detaching Aile Striker in three…two…one…NOW!!!"

With a metallic clunk, I felt the Aile break loose of it's moorings against the Strike's back, pure instinct and adrenaline fuelling my actions as I spun the mobile suit 180 degrees as the Moebius Zero flew by my head, it's tow cable snapping loose as it arced overhead.

Something slammed into my shoulder at back, new weapons options appearing on my screen as the Phase Shift Armour kicked in.

"Launcher Striker, online," I slammed my fist urgently into the weapons panel, the long barrel of the Launcher's primary weapon sliding into few as the tactical computer extended over my eye, "Hyper Impulse Cannon, ready!"

"_Just aim and fire!"_ Sara's panicked voice resonated in my ear as I aligned the target to the Nelson's engines, _"It's almost on top of the colony!"_

"Just a little…more…" the computer pinged as the target locked on, "THERE!!!"

I pulled the trigger.

With a flare of orange and red, the powerful energy blast seared through the void between the Nelson and me, the beam slicing directly through the centre of the ship. Entire plates of armour burst off the hull as explosions plumed across the night. But just as I started to relax, the Nelson careened out of control, only to explode against Heliopolis' side.

The effect was instantaneous.

Already weakened by the near constant barrage of beam fire it had recently endured, the dying space colony finally seemed to give up on it's life. Segments of land and glass broke free of their moorings as the air within the cylinder was violently sucked out into space, all kinds of debris from cars to disintegrating buildings cast out into the darkness as the lifeboats were ejected into the chaos.

"No…" I could only watch as massive sections of space colony smashed into each other and the mirrors above them as the fleet struggled to move clear of the spraying debris, "Still not good enough," I clenched my fingers tightly around the controls sticks, "What the hell have brought upon these people,"

"_Not us Westfield,"_ I glanced at the Moebius Zero as it came up beside me, _"We're not the ones at fault here._

_If anyone's to blame here, it's those bastards we call the Earth Alliance,"_

_

* * *

_

(Something seems wrong with fanfiction: I can't seem to get the title centered. Oh well)

One thing I realised while writing this chapter: Big battles are hard to describe. It makes it even harder when you've got such a great scene in your head, but when you write it down it doesn't seem as impressive. The only thing I wasn't sure about here was the suicide run by the Nelsons. Reading it over, I'm not sure exactly how effective ramming a 250 metre long warship into a 30 kilometre long space colony would be, but I'm going to assume that the fleet was attacking weak points along the cylinder's wall with the final run being the deadly icing on the cake. I needed to find a way to destroy Heliopolis (It's an important factor later) and I didn't want to have the fight return to the inisde of the colony, so I think this is the best I can come up with.

Anyway, Phase 02 done and dusted. I'm actually up to Phase 08, but progress is slow with this fic (I'm currently at university, which is taking up most of my time), which is why chapters will probably be out on a roughly monthly.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Phase 03 will be a little more quiet, and will probably be out just before Christmas.

Thanks for reading,

Dearing


	4. Brief Interlude

**PHASE 03**

**BRIEF INTERLUDE**

"What's the damage, Canestro?"

The green haired engineer sighed as his Commander floated across the hanger to him, her excursion suit now replaced with a fresh new uniform.

"Aside from the obvious, it could've been worse," he sighed as he took in the data on his clipboard, "We only lost Olar and Romaro, although Miguel got hit by debris from the Nelson he destroyed, so he might be out of it for a while. On the plus side, we did manage to salvage the Cosmograsper Amalfi skewered, and a couple of Skygraspers, atmospheric variants of the Cosmograsper, fell out of the Nelson that crashed into Heliopolis before it…hit. They're a bit scorched, but it's nothing we can't repair. Aside from that, not much to tell. The Valiant and the Gamow both got a bit dented up, but aside from that…"

"What about the prototypes?"

"The Duel, Blitz and Buster have already returned, and the Aegis is just about to come in. As for the Strike…"

"_Commander Michaels, please report in to the Bridge immediately!"_

Sara sighed irritably as Mira's voice crossed the Hanger Bay, the whitecoat shooting Canestro a helpless glance as she pushed off towards the nearby communication station.

"What's the matter Sanchez? It's not like this day could get any better,"

"_Commander,"_ Mira's tanned face appeared on the screen, her features clearly betraying her worry, _"The Strike has returned to the ship, however it appears to be accompanied by one of Heliopolis' lifeboats,"_

"What? Let me see,"

The solider nodded, her image fading out into outer space, the pale form of the Strike in the centre of the picture, a large cylindrical capsule held between it's hands, the number twenty-six painted on it's side, and…

"What is that?" the whitecoat pointed to the rear of the pod.

"Dunno," Canestro frowned as he squinted at the image, "Looks like some kind of debris got lodged in the thruster assembly. Might've pierced the life support system too. Won't know unless we bring it on board,"

"Bring it on board? This is a captured warship, not a cruise liner!" Sara ran a hand over her pulled back hair, "Ugh, get me the Strike Sanchez, double time,"

"_Yes Ma'am,"_

"Westfield," The Commander growled as Marcus' image replaced his machine, "What do you think you're doing?"

"_Ma'am,"_ the redcoat shifted uneasily under her glare, _"I found this lifeboat adrift from the others. It's life support is down to minimal, it'll be gone within the hour. With you're permission, I'd like to bring the pod on board,"_

"And where do you suggest we put them?" Marcus flinched at her hard tone, "We've already got five civilians on board, and we don't know what to do with _them_,"

"_These will be different Ma'am. The Civilians we already have on board are here because of their supposed connection to the prototypes. These will just be refugees. They won't be able to last until the rescue ships arrive Ma'am…and we are kinda partially responsible for destroying their home…"_

"Stow it Westfield," the last thing the Commander needed was her subordinate playing the guilt card, "Fine, you want to bring the boat on board, you've got permission. I just hope you realise what you're getting them into,"

* * *

"No! You stay away from me! I don't want any of you Coordinators touching me!"

It didn't take long for me to figure out what the Commander meant.

Pushing away angrily from the stunned greencoats as they pulled her free of the lifeboat, I watched with mild bemusement as a girl with long dark red hair floated away from my comrades with fear and disgust.

"Just stay away from me!" her voice carried across the hanger as I pushed off from the Strike's cockpit to the top of the pod, "I'm warning you, when my daddy finds out what you've done…"

"What we've done?" a greencoat smirked slightly, "Miss, if it weren't for us, you'd of been dead within the hour…"

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place!" the girl's light blue eyes narrowed to slits as she floated just out of reach, "How could you destroy an entire colony like that? That's the only possible reason the lifeboats would have ejected!"

"That's a good theory," I grabbed a greencoat's shoulder as I came down to the hatch, the trio of soldiers saluting in respect as tried to smile sympathetically at the red-head, "And it's true; Heliopolis _has _been destroyed, but not by us. It appears Earth Alliance tried to enact a Scorched Earth policy. They didn't want us to get our hands on the technology they were constructing here, so they destroyed the colony in an attempt to…"

"Please, do you really expect me to believe Alliance Forces would destroy a _neutral _colony?" the girl scoffed as she folded her arms across her chest, "What do you take me for, an idiot?"

"Actually, judging by your attitude, I'd say you were a member of Blue Cosmos," I watched carefully as the girl flinched at my statement, my fellow Coordinators tensing slightly, one even letting her hand fall onto the grip of the pistol on her waist, "The Alliance destroyed Junius Seven Miss; a agricultural PLANT. I wouldn't put it past them to destroy another colony after seeing _that_ travesty first hand,"

The girl scowled darkly, but didn't rise to debate.

"My name is Flay Allster," she smirked daringly, "Ring any bells?"

"Allster?" I ignored the uneasy look the female greencoat sent my way, "As in George Allster, the Vice-Minister of the Atlantic Federation?"

"The same!" an air of triumph and superiority seemed to surround the girl, "He's my father. I was sent here to be educated away from the conflicts of war, but when my Daddy finds out you kidnapped his daughter…"

"He's going to keep his trap shut," the redhead glared at me indignantly, clearly not used to be interrupted, nor pleased with my dangerous tone, "Because if he opens it, he's going to have to explain why the Alliance and Orb conspired to construct this vessel and five mobile suit prototypes,"

The smugness seemed to falter, the girl's eyes regarding me uneasily.

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't a ZAFT ship Miss Allster; it was built by the Alliance with the help of the Orb Union. Those machines," I indicated to the five prototypes in the bays behind me and the remains of the Cosmograsper as it was hauled into a maintenance bay, "were not constructed by ZAFT, they were built by the Alliance, with the help of Morgenroete. They are the reason we are here, and the reason the Alliance destroyed your home. We are not your enemy here Miss Allster; The Naturals, like your own father that you have so much faith in, are,"

She just stared at me in disbelief, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, the lips moving but no sound coming out.

Taking advantage of the refreshing silence, I quickly ducked down into the cylindrical lifeboat, a crowd of various scared faces quickly parting as this strange man in a crimson excursion suit dropped down amongst them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have you attention," I tried to smile reassuringly as several parents held their children a little closer, "My name is Marcus Westfield, a pilot for the ZAFT Organisation. It is my sad duty to inform you, that due to collateral damage of a recent battle, the colony of Heliopolis has collapsed. Now, I ask you please not to panic, you are not our hostages. As you may have been aware, your lifeboat was damaged by debris, and you were brought aboard to insure your survival. If you will please head up the ladder one at a time, the officers above will show you to general living quarters, and I will send someone to try and explain the current situation, and where we go from here. Thank you for your time,"

Most of the survivors didn't look convinced. A few seemed to relax slightly however. My biggest victory however was a little girl with light brown bunches and pink dungarees, who, although she appeared to be being crushed by her apprehensive mother, gave me a small comforting smile.

After giving one last reassuring smile around the cramped quarters I pushed myself back up towards the hatch, one of the greencoats giving me a hand up as I took in the wary form of Flay Allster.

"Are you going to behave, or do I have to separate you from the rest? The last thing we need right now is unnecessary rebellion,"

The girl scowled slightly, but shook her head hesitantly.

"I'll…cooperate,"

"Thank you," I turned to the nearest greencoat, "Please take the names of these refugees from their ID cards so we know who we have on board, then take them down to the general quarters on the Lower Decks. Get them some food and drink, and keep them comfortable," I smiled as I offered a helping hand to the first person to appear out of the hatch, the young woman hesitantly slipping her hand into mine, "The last thing we need is any more negative press then what this war has already given us,"

* * *

They all stood in a long line across the Brig; some in dirtied Alliance uniforms, a couple in simple overalls, one in a custom coloured pilot suit.

As the footage of the battle that had been fought only a half hour ago came to an end, Sara couldn't help but feel a certain grim satisfaction at the mixed reactions of shock and horror that crossed her prisoner's faces at the lengths their comrades had gone to try and hide their secrets from the rest of humanity.

"I can't believe it…" the pilot swallowed thickly as he watched the debris of the colony spin out into the night, "It was so fragile,"

"I hope you're proud of yourselves," The Commander folded her arms across her chest angrily, the soldiers before her all shifting uncomfortably under her gaze, "This is what your actions have brought upon these people. This is the end result of your conspiracy with Orb; the complete and total destruction of Heliopolis. I won't deny that we provided the catalyst for your comrades to widen, but then again, if you hadn't come up here, we wouldn't of had to blow a hole through the side of the colony in the first place, would we?"

The rhetorical question was met with silence.

"So, this is how the rest of the war is going to pan out for you," she pushed off the floor to go down the line, "Kojiro Murdoch, Dalida Lolaha Chandra, Romero Pal, Jackie Tonomura, Arnold Newmann, Natarle Badgiruel, Murrue Ramius, Mu La Flaga," she came to a stop beside the blond pilot, "From this moment forward, you are to be considered prisoners of war. You shall be confined to the Brig until we reach the PLANTs. One there, you will be handed over to the proper authorities. I would _prefer_it if we could return home without any unnecessary…" she eyed La Flaga sharply, "…complications. Understood?"

The officers all nodded sombrely.

"Good. You may return to your cells,"

She sighed heavily as the Naturals turned about face and returned to their respective cages, the greencoats saluting respectfully to her as she past by on her way into the corridor.

"Are you expecting trouble, Sara?"

Michaels regarded Le Creuset irritably as she found him outside the Brig, the masked man's smirk…irking her somehow.

"Not really," she shrugged as she glided past him on her way to the Bridge, "They all seemed pretty shocked after seeing the footage of their comrades. I know I would be if our roles had been switched. It won't be long until we get back to Aprilius One. After that," she shrugged carelessly, "It's not our problem," she gave her masked comrade a querying look, "What are _you_ doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to on the Vesalius?"

"I felt there was still a minor inconvenience we should discuss before we get underway," Sara squeaked in surprise as his heavy hand fell on her shoulder, halting her progress down the corridor, "I felt it would be better to discuss it personally. After all, it _does_ involve the welfare of those five children we brought on board,"

A pang of guilt shot through Sara's body. She had almost forgotten about their civilian passengers.

"On my way in, I was also informed that you had taken the liberty of bringing a damaged lifeboat aboard," Rau seemed to smile almost sympathetically, "While I admire your heroics in saving those civilians, I am curious to know as to what you plan to do with them,"

"Westfield," Michaels eyes narrowed as she cursed her redcoat under her breath, "You idiot…"

"Sorry," Rau smiled innocently, "I didn't quite catch that,"

Sara merely scowled at her comrade, before sighing heavily.

"Their fate will just have to be similar to that of the Alliance soldiers. We'll take them as far as the PLANTs, then hand them over to someone who can take them back to Orb Union territory. That's the best they we can do for them right now,"

"And the five children? The Alliance woman seemed to think keeping them around was important,"

"Maybe to the Alliance, but not to me," Sara shrugged again, "I am having them interviewed though, just to be sure. I'm kinda understaffed though, so I had Westfield and Amalfi do it," she chuckled slightly, "Compared to most of us, those two are pretty soft when it comes to war. I think the seven of them will get along great,"

* * *

"Understaffed," I shook my head with mild disbelief as I took in the data already gleaned from the ID cards of our interviewees on my clipboard, "We have a hundred personal on board, that's almost a third of the optimum crew. It wouldn't of killed the Commander to send a couple of greencoats down here,"  
"Don't be so harsh on her," Nicol smiled sympathetically as he pushed the food trolley beside me through the gravity block, "We're just the pilots, all we have to do is fly the suits whenever we hit trouble, and maybe a little maintenance when we get back. It's not like we were doing anything at the moment anyway,"

"I guess so," I rolled my shoulders achingly as I pulled at the collar of my fresh uniform, "At least she gave us time for a shower and a change. I think I might've mutinied if I had to spend another minute in that excursion suit," I sighed as we turned into another corridor, a line of five private quarter stretching out before us, "This the place?"

"Yep, private quarters. Supposedly reserved for officers and the usual higher-ups that only come for a visit," my green-haired friend grinned as he plucked the clipboard from my hands, "Looks like the first one on our list is…Kira Yamato,"

"WAIT!"

My hand hovered over the first door's lock release when the cry echoed down the corridor, my green eyes looking back in surprise as Athrun sprinted up to us, his breathing heavy and panting as he lent against a nearby bulkhead.

"Zala?" I frowned slightly as my comrade caught his breath, "What are you doing here? I thought Michaels told you to get some sleep,"

"I…I need to talk to Kira,"  
"One of the civilians? Why?"

Athrun didn't reply for a moment. He just kept his eyes trained on my boots, his free hand clenching slightly.

"Please…I just have to see him,"  
"Is he a friend Athrun?" The blue haired coordinator looked up at Nicol in surprise, "I mean you referred to him by his first name, you didn't even look at the data we got from the ID Cards,"

Athrun winced slightly, his shoulders sagging as he realised he was clearly caught. Finally, he nodded.

"We attended the same Lunar Prep School. He's a Coordinator, and we were supposed to meet up on the PLANTs after my father pulled me back home due to rising tensions between us and the Naturals…" he cast a troubled gaze towards the nearest door, "I never dreamed we'd meet up again like this though…"

"Then maybe you can find out what he was doing inside the cockpit of an Alliance mobile suit,"

Zala blinked in surprise as I pulled out Yamato's information from the clipboard and handed it to my comrade atop a packet of rations.

"Go talk to your friend. Me and Nicol will divide the last four between the two of us," I smiled sympathetically, "Just remember, this is the guy that reprogrammed the Strike Gundam's OS in the middle of a battle. Of our five, he probably knows the most about the project. If anything, you might actually get a more honest answer out of him then me or Nichol."  
"I understand," Athrun merely nodded solemnly, taking the rations and data from my hand, "Don't worry, I'll keep that in mind,"

* * *

"So…it really is you,"

Kira blinked in surprise as the familiar voice of his former friend came across the room, his blue eyes narrowing as the redcoat closed the door behind him.

"Athrun? Athrun Zala?" he frowned uneasily, "What is this? Why are you here?"

"You should talk," his friend smiled grimly as he cast a page of notes and silver packet onto the nearby desk, "I thought you said we'd meet up on the PLANTs, but you never came. I never even heard from you up until now. Not even a letter to say 'sorry, can't make it'," the smile disappeared, Athrun's eyes slowly trailing to the data sheet, "After everything that's happened…I can't help but wonder…" he shook his head, as though to disperse the thoughts that had entered his head, before looking up determinately into his friend's eyes, "I'm only going to ask this once Kira, so you damn well better give me the truth. Are you working with the Alliance or Orb to develop mobile suits to fight against ZAFT?"

"What? No!" Kira balled his fists angrily, appalled that his friend would even consider such a thought, "I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time! After the evacuation, my parents decided to move to Orb to try and avoid the war," he scowled slightly, refusing to meet Athrun's eyes, "They…they were afraid that you might try and make me fight if I returned to the PLANTs, so they wouldn't even let me contact you. I thought they were being ridiculous, that the tension between Naturals and Coordinators were just feeding their decisions. I thought there was no way you'd want to fight the Alliance if war did break out, and no way you'd want me to fight by your side. I _thought_ that," he eyed his friend sharply, "Maybe I was wrong,"

Athrun scowled, but didn't rise to debate.

"What were you doing near the mobile weapons at Morgenroete? Why did you attack the GINN and reprogram the Strike?"

"Protection!" Kira's eyes narrowed to slits, "ZAFT was attacking a _neutral_colony, I was trying to evacuate, but I was cut off from the lifeboats. Lt. Ramius called me down to the Gundam's cockpit to try and save my life. You're GINN attacked us, with my _friends_still fleeing for their lives around its feet. I took control of the suit to protect them Athrun, and I reprogrammed the OS in order to better protect them. I'm not an Alliance solider. I hate war, and I just want to go home,"

A stunned silence met this speech, the two young teens staring each other down from across the room, the tension thick.

"And that's the truth…is it?" Athrun frowned slightly as he finally spoke, "You were just…in the wrong place at the wrong time? If you're lying to me Kira…"

"I'm not," he shook his head, "You're my friend Athrun…at least I thought you were. Why are you here, and why are you wearing that uniform?"

"Why have most Coordinators join ZAFT recently?" the redcoat sighed as his shoulders slumped, "Junius Seven, Bloody Valentine,"

Kira tensed as Athrun closed the gap between them, only to walk past and slump onto the bed, his hands twisting and turning in his lap.

"My mother was on Junius Seven when the Alliance destroyed it," the pilot scowled darkly under tresses of blue, "I was in the Januarius cities at the time when the news broke. I could only stare as they played that same footage over and over again. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know whether to be angry or distraught. Then they played the footage of the actual battle; of ZAFT soldiers valiantly defending the PLANTs from the oncoming attacks," he smiled slightly, "Of Marcus Westfield as he ploughed a GINN into the Bridge of the Roosevelt and barely escaped with his life. To me, it seemed to be the only thing I could do; focus all that hatred and despair against the Naturals, and join ZAFT to release that energy against them. My father agreed with me," he sighed again as Kira sat down beside him, "I came here for this ship, and the five prototypes it was designed to carry, in an attempt to at least slow down the development of Alliance mobile suits. But we ran into a Alliance transport fleet bringing some kind of fighter to the colony and…" Zala turned to his friend sadly, "I'm sorry Kira, but in an attempt to take out the Archangel, the Alliance forces destroyed Heliopolis,"

"Heliopolis is…gone?"

"Yes. We detected that all life pods were launched as the colony broke up, and we even took on one of the damaged pods before it could drift out into space," Athrun winced slightly as his friend tensed, "Once we get back to the PLANTs, Commander Michaels intends to send them back to Orb. It's not their fault their government betrayed them,"

"And what about me? And my friends?"

"Well…that depends," Athrun smiled wryly, "How much do you know about the Strike?"

"If you're talking about the Gundam mobile suit I was found in, not much," Kira returned the gesture, "I could tell you how to move it about if you like, but aside from that…"

"So…nothing we don't already know then?"

Kira chuckled, "Yeah…I guess so,"

Athrun laughed, his head shaking with sdisbelief as he made to get up, "You haven't changed much Kira. I'm…glad. I'll see if I can get Commander Michaels to let you join the other refugees…"

"Athrun…wait,"

"Hm?" the redcoat frowned slightly, midway through standing up, "What's the matter?"

"Can we…just talk?" Kira smiled slightly, his hands flexing uneasily, "It's been so long since I've seen you. Can we just talk about…anything?"

Athrun frowned, but eventually smiled.

"Alright," he set himself back down on the bed, "What do you want to talk about?"

* * *

"Well, that was informative,"

I smirked slightly as I locked the door behind me. Kuzzey Buskirk had thus far had the loosest of lips, spending the past five minutes telling me everything he didn't know about the Strike, the Archangel and everything in-between, each sentence seemingly punctuated by "I don't know anything!"

Considering he had cowered in the corner of the room from the moment I entered, I found it hard not to believe him.

"That just leaves one for me: Miriallia Haw,"

I frowned down at the image of the sixteen year old that accompanied her ID data, the girl I had originally stopped in the hanger before the battle staring up at me with a small shy smile.

"_Very pretty,"_ I grinned guiltily to myself as I pulled a packet of rations from the trolley left unguarded in the corridor, _"It's a shame she got pulled into this. Then again…" _I paused my hand over the lock release, _"She's only a year younger then me. Suppose that means it's a shame _I_ got pulled into this too. All of us, too young to fight a government's war,"_ I smirked slightly, _"Damn, I sound like Robert,"_

Shaking my head at the mere thought, I flicked off the lock release…only for the door to open onto a empty room.

For a moment, my heart stopped. Had I gotten the wrong room? Had she escaped? Had some lecherous Coordinator decided to take her away to have some 'fun'? I scowled darkly at that last thought as I calmed myself, my free hand flexing tensely against my holstered pistol as I carefully stepped inside.

There was no way she could have escaped; the locking mechanism had been reworked so it could only be unlocked from the outside and the inside panel didn't show signs of being tampered with. That meant she was either hiding, or she hadn't been put in this room in the first place.

As I closed the door however, I quickly got my answer; in the form of the bed's thick pillow coming down hard on my head.

"Ow! What the!" I gasped heavily as something human sized jumped on my back from the desk, my winded lungs gasping for air as someone locked their arms around my neck and pulled hard

"Who are you?" A distinctly female voice pierced my dulled brain as her legs tightened around my waist and her arms continued to choke my windpipe, "Where's Tolle? Where are my friends! What's…"  
"Would you kindly…" I weezed darkly as I abruptly grabbed her upper arms, "GET OFF!"

My attacker barely had time to cry out in alarm as I promptly threw her with all my might across the room to land with a soft thump on the open bed that had been bolted to the wall.

Wasting no time, I quickly crossed the room in a few steps and forced her to the mattress as she opened her mouth to scream, one hand closing around her wrists and holding her arms above her head, my other free appendage coming over her mouth as I pinned her to the bed with my knee.

"Alright, now that I'm seeing stars," I smirked uncomfortably as the girl struggled and squirmed underneath me, "Would you mind calming down? I'm not going to hurt you," her lithe form stopped wiggling abruptly as she heard my voice, her blue eyes still darting around the cramped quarters as though trying to find a means to escape, "Thank you. Now, I'm going to remove my hand from your mouth now, so that the two of us can sit down and have a nice conversation like decent human beings, alright?"

She seemed to be a little insulted at the condescending tone, but she nodded all the same.

Slowly, I raised my hand, only for it to clap shut over it again as she inhaled deeply to scream her lungs out.

"Alright, let's try this again," I smiled tightly, my head not up to the screams of false accusations I had no doubt would come my way if I let this girl open her mouth, "I am going to let go of your mouth, and this time, you're not going to try and scream. Because if you do, I am going to ask all my questions from the position we're in now," I smirked as her eyes widened in alarm, her cheeks flushing scarlet, "And if Nicol comes in here wondering where I've got too, I imagine you and I are going to have to answer some rather more difficult questions then the ones I've been asked to ask you,"

Her eyes narrowed as though to say, 'You wouldn't dare!'

"Don't look at me like that," I smiled sympathetically, "I'm not you're enemy here. I just want to know what _you_ know about the mobile suit you were found with. If you're a civilian, you won't know much, and you can probably go and join the other refugees. So…I let go, and you answer my questions…please?"

She seemed to shy away from me as she pressed her head down into the mattress of the pillow-less bed, the adrenaline that had no doubt fuelled her previous actions now completely drained. With an air of reluctance, she carefully nodded.

"Thank you," my smile became a reassuring one as I gently removed my hand from her mouth, a sigh of relief escaping my lips as no high-pitched sound came from hers. Carefully, I released her hands and removed my knee from her abdomen, allowing her to gently sit up as I rose to my full height, her cheeks still flushed as she kept her eyes on her knees in embarrassment.

"You want something to eat?" I hesitantly picked up the discarded packet where it had fallen from her assault, "It's just basic rations I'm afraid, but they'll keep you fed,"

She shook her head silently.

"I see. Well, they're there on the desk for when you want them," I sighed as I picked up the data sheet and tossed the rations onto the desk. Somehow, a part of me prefered the physically abusing girl that had greeted me as I walked in then this clearly afraid young woman that sat on the edge of the bed, "So. You are Miriallia Haw, born February 17, 55CE. Guess that means you're birthday's coming up right?" I winced when I didn't even get a reaction, "Okay…Natural, Blood type AB, born on Heliopolis, Parents are…"

"What…happened?"

"Hm?"

"The ship…it was shaking," Miriallia twisted her hands in her lap, her face scrunched up as though she didn't really want to know the answers to her own questions, "I heard we were going into battle over the Communications system," she raised her head slightly, her bright blue orbs meeting my green ones, "What happened? Is the colony alright? Did we really go into battle? You mentioned…"

Her voice died as I sighed uncomfortably, my eyes returning to my data sheet for a moment, only to return to hers as I cast the clipboard aside.

"There _was_ a battle," I chose my words carefully, my mind fully aware of how her body tensed, "The Alliance appeared to be delivering several components to the Archangel under heavy guard; three Nelsons, two Drakes. We won but…before they got what was coming to them, the last vessels tried to invoke a Scorched Earth policy against this ship and the prototypes we recovered…they destroyed the colony in the hope that the resulting explosion and debris would…" I winced slightly at her gasp, realising too late how bluntly I'd put it as her eyes widening in horror, "I'm sorry…really. We tried to stop them but…"

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why is this happening?" she stood up slowly from the bed, her features betraying a mixture of anguish and anger, "Why is the Alliance here? Why is ZAFT here?" she shook her head violently, "We're neutral, why is the _war _here?" she suddenly glared at me, my feet taking me several paces back as she advanced on me, "Tolle said…because we were neutral, we'd be safe. That there was no way any Orb territory would become a war zone. Now I've been abducted by both the Alliance _and_ZAFT in the same day, and my home has been destroyed as the result of a battle that I never wanted to be a part of anyway. Answer me Coordinator," she raised her hand as she suddenly lunged at me, her intentions clear, "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!"

Her eyes widened as I caught her wrist in an iron grasp, a frown gracing my features as she struggled to release my grip.

"First, my name is Marcus. Don't group Coordinators under one name, it's just rude," I kept my voice calm, my eyes watching her carefully as she continued to pull at fingers.

"Let go of me!" she made a move to slap me again with her free hand, only to find the limb caught in mine a moment later, "Stop it!"

"Second, I don't know the particulars of why the Earth Forces chose Heliopolis as the base from which to construct the Archangel and the prototypes. I only know what I'm told, and that's that the Orb Union and Earth Alliance conspired to build them. I don't know why your government abused our trust, I only know that if the Alliance had been allowed to develop these weapons, this war would just escalate further out of control.

"Stop it! I don't want to hear it anymore!" tears were now streaming down Miriallia's face as she continued to fruitlessly pull at my grip, "It's too painful. Why would our own government do something so terrible? It's just no…"

Her voice became a squeak of surprise as I pulled her in close, my arms wrapping around her slim waist and back as my cheek lightly graced her soft brown hair.

"Third," my voice dulled down to a bare murmur as I hugged her stunned form tight, "I am…_so_ sorry I couldn't save your home,"

As my words sunk in, I felt her struggle. She tried to worm out of my embrace as her fists beat against my chest, each blow becoming weaker than the last as I felt the dampness of her tears seep through the shoulder of my tunic.

This was Miriallia Haw; a scared and sad girl who had just lost her home, who didn't know the fate of her family or friends, and couldn't decide who to blame for it's destruction.

I held her quietly as her anger dissolved into sobs, one hand rubbing soothing circles against her back as her own limbs came around my waist.

I can't remember how long we stood there like that in each others embrace, only that I did so until the weight of recent events carried her away into a fitful sleep against my shoulder, her tears drying up to make way for slow steady breaths against my cheek as Archangel continued to hum quietly around us.

* * *

"_Alright, we've transferred all the supplies we're gonna need for this trip,"_ Simon smirked from the Bridge's comm. Screen as he gave a thumbs up, _"We're ready to go when you are Ma'am,"_

"Good work Canestro," Sara nodded with a sigh, "Get down to engineering. Sanchez, contact the Vesalius. Inform Le Creuset we're ready to get underway when he is,"

"Roger that Ma'am," the communications officer nodded as her fingers flew across her console, "Message received. Vesalius will take up defensive position in front, Valiant and Gamow to port and starboard respectfully. Kamna, stand by to match velocity,"

"Roger," the azure haired helmsman nodded, "Standing by, ready to head out Commander. Commander?"

Sara didn't reply. Her light blue orbs took in the last remains of Heliopolis one final time, the spinning debris dotted with clusters of lifeboats as they clung together in the dark void of space.

"_Like it or not, we're partly responsible for bringing this situation onto these people,"_ the redhead scowled darkly, _"But if we'd stayed away…this war would just go on for so much longer. Yes…mobile suits against mobile armours might be unfair, but at least this damn conflict will be over a whole lot sooner then if Naturals and Coordinators were on even footing,"_

She sighed again, before turning her attention to the main window.

"Let's head home ladies and gents. Kamna, if you get lost, just follow the big ass in front of us,"

"Aye, Ma'am,"

* * *

In the silence of space, Archangel and her escorts headed away from the destruction it's creation had wrought, a handful of refugees unwittingly tagging along for the ride as we headed back towards the PLANTs and home.

As I turned off the lights in Miriallia's quarters however, content to leave the girl asleep under the thin sheets of the bed, a cold thought hit me, staying with me as I strolled down the corridors to where my own quarters lay:

If the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit hadn't been involved in this operation…would things have been any different?

* * *

A bit of a quiet chapter today. I might upload another one either next week or week after, because that one has a bit of action in it.

Regarding questions I've had on where the other canon characters fit in in this fic (e.g. Kira, the Earth Alliance guys and girls, etc), I can't really say much a couple of reasons. The first major one is I'm not completely sure myself. I only have a basic plan of where this story is heading, so at present, only major characters fates are set in stone. the second major reason is I don't want to spoil much for what story I've set in stone (which is understandable right?).

Kudos to the guys and girls who noticed the MS-Igloo references. As I said before Marcus, Sara and most of the original characters were salvaged from my other GUndam Seed fic: The Path to Bloody Valentine, which was basically going to be Ms-Igloo in the Cosmic Era. The first two chapters are still on my profile if you want to read it (I'll probably won't do any other adaptions due to a lack of interest, but I consider what I've written to be canon to this series, although the names of the cast have been changed a bit as I said before)

Lastly noting the self-insert aspect Mr. Cereal noted about Marcus becoming the pilot of the Strike, I will be the first to admit I agree with him. The only other way I thought of having Marcus becoming the pilot was for him to be running diagnostics when the Earth Alliance actually attacked, and was assigned to the Strike after they won the battle. I didn't like this version though, because it felt a little too close to how Kira became Strike's pilot in the original. As such, when it boiled down to it it was either the above or what I wrote down, so I decided to use the one I used because I couldn't think of anything else.

Anyway, that's all I have to say. Leave reviews if you liekd what you read, or if you want to ask a question and constructive criticism is always welcome. As I said, I'm thinking about uploading another chapter before Christmas, but it depends on how busy I am, it being Christmas and all.

Thanks for reading,

Dearing


	5. A Songbird's Cry That Stained The Night

Long week eh?

I'm really sorry for those of you who were waiting. Things just kept getting in the way, then I had a lull in ideas for this story, then I got my ideas back, then Christmas was over and University once again intervened...surfice to say a lot got in the way.

Anyway, here's the latest chapter for you. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**PHASE 04**

**A SONGBIRD'S CRY THAT STAINED THE NIGHT**

"So, the Archangel survived the destruction of Heliopolis?" Muruta Azrael sighed almost sympathetically as he gazed out over Panama Spaceport, "How…unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" It's a disaster!" William Sutherland scowled darkly at his office's desk as he tugged at his uniform's collar, "Five prototypes stolen, their carrier used as a getaway vehicle, and not even a collapsing colony could stop them."

"So we lost five machines and a warship." The Captain stared incredulously at the director of the Atlantic National Defence Conglomerate, the blond man smiling faintly as he watched a cargo vessel being loaded up onto the Mass Driver below, "We still have three of the five initial models in our possession, as well as the three second generation prototypes we built here on Earth. Correct me if I'm wrong but," he smirked behind him towards the older man, "I still feel we'll at a tactical advantage here. We can even use Heliopolis' destruction as propaganda against the Coordinators. Who's the public going to believe? Them or us?"

Sutherland merely grunted in response, clearly not entirely convinced.

"Propaganda. You'll forgive me if I don't share your enthusiasm. Those three extra machines may be our ace in the hole, but their pilots…they're a mixed batch, that's for sure."

"You worry too much Sutherland." Azrael smirked, "The pilots will be just fine…until the three other units can be properly upgraded that is. That said. It _would_ be nice to have the missing units…returned to us."

"Do you have something in mind?"  
"Indeed I do," the director's smirk became a full fledged grin as he turned to face his comrade, "Tell me Sutherland, Do you know how close we are…to Bloody Valentine?"

* * *

Dear Marcus,

I finally completed training today. Graduation was a short affair though, what with the war on and all. I wish you could've been there though. We haven't really seen each other for a while. I'm hoping I'll still be around when you get back to the PLANTs, but I'm expecting my first assignment any day now. I was hoping to be assigned to a Technical Evaluation Unit (I hear the 501st is in need of a test pilot), but with the way the war's going…I'll probably be assigned to some front line team. I _am_ a redcoat now after all.

Anyway, I know this will probably get to you before your mission, so I better leave you to your preparations.

Take care Marcus.

All my best,

Shiho

"What'cha reading?"

I blinked in surprise as I looked up from my letter at the sound of the childish voice, an eyebrow arching with mild amusement as a familiar little girl bounded through the zero gravity of the Archangel's rear Observation Deck, her small arms pin-wheeling frantically as she tried to stay upright, her cherubic face smiling innocently as she cocked her head to one side in curiosity.

I smiled slightly in return as I pushed off the wall I'd been using as a headrest, letting the document fly across the empty space as I held out a steadying hand to the child.

"It's a letter."

"From who?"

"A friend."

The girl's smiles seemed to become remarkably sly as she latched onto my hand, "A _girl_friend?"

I chuckled slightly as she moved to hang onto my arm, "Sort of. Ex-Fiancée."

"What's a Fien…fean," she scowled cutely as she tried to mouth the word, "What's that?"

I merely smiled again, "It means I was supposed to marry her/"

"Marry?" the girl's eyes widened in awe, "With a dress, and a church, and flowers?"

"That was the idea."

"Can I be a bridesmaid?"

I chuckled again at her innocence, "Sorry, the engagement was cancelled around a year ago. No wedding."

"Aww," she pouted, "What happened?"

"Bloody Val…" I stopped myself, her blue eyes blinking curiously, "Something big happened. Something terrible. It effected Shiho's family in such a way, they felt like the prospect of a wedding, even if it wouldn't be for a few years, was just too…disheartening."

"Ooh," the girl nodded, her brown bunches swaying in the lack of gravity, "You're still friends though right?"

"Yep," I plucked the letter out of the air and pushed off down to the floor, "We still write to each other when we can, but enough about that," I gave my small companion a curious look, "What are you doing out here by yourself? Where's your parents?"

"My Mummy's asleep, but I wanted to explore," the girl tried to look heroic by punching the air, only to cling to my outstretched arm as she stumbled in the zero gravity, "Daddy's back in the Homeland. He's always working there." she smiled brightly, "He's a Coordinator, just like you!"

"Just like me?" I smirked slightly as I eased her to the floor, "Somehow I doubt that. But you're half Coordinator huh?"

"Yep!" she smiled proudly, "Daddy says I'm special! That's why I like you Mister, 'cause you're a Coordinator too, like my Daddy."

"I see," I smiled kindly as I moved her hand and placed it in my own, "Come on then. I think we should go find you're mom. The last thing you want is to scare her if she wakes up and finds you missing."

* * *

"I see." Sara looked down at the five reports splayed across the desk before her, Athrun and Nicol standing at ease within the Captain's Office, the screen of the laptop currently set up on the polished surface divided between Le Creuset and Ades on the Vesalius, Zelman on the Gamow and Tandar on the Valiant, and turned in a way so the officers could see both her and the men that stood with her, "So it's just as we thought," she smirked faintly, "They know…nothing."

"Ma'am."

"Yes Ma'am."

"And Zala…" she frowned slightly, but didn't let the smirk leave her face, "Why are _you_ here? Where's Westfield?"

"Oh, Marcus just received a letter from the Valiant sent by one his friends in the PLANTs," Nicol smiled brightly before Athrun could open his mouth, "He hasn't heard from her in in a while, so he really wanted to read it. It only takes one of us to deliver the reports Ma'am."

"I see," Michaels turned back to the silent redcoat, "That still doesn't explain why _you__'__re_ here Zala. I thought you'd be taking advantage of the down time."  
"Ma'am I…I know one of the civilians that was brought on board," Athrun shifted uneasily as the Captains and Commander seemed to glance at each other uneasily on the screen, "Kira Yamato is a friend of mine from prep school. He's a Coordinator, first generation. I felt that, if he knew anything, he might be more inclined to tell me more then total strangers like Nicol or Westfield."

"_I see,"_ Le Creuset scratched his chin thoughtfully, _"According to your report, this Yamato child was the one who reprogrammed the Strike's OS. Are you still certain he knows nothing of the project?"_

"Aside from what he's seen so far, yes. He claims he wasn't part of the Alliance's plans for the construction of the Archangel or the mobile suits. I will vouch for his honesty."

"_Prep School was a long time ago for a kid like you Zala,"_ Zelman frowned slightly, _"You sure you can trust him?"_

"As I said, I will vouch for him sir."

"_Then I hope that trust is not misplaced Athrun,"_ Le Creuset smiled again, _"At any rate, if these children know nothing of the Alliance's experiments, I see no reason to keep them separated from the other refugees. The group may be small, but they may have friends or even family among them_."

"It's already been done."

"_Then I believe we have run out of things to discuss._ _We'll be grazing the edge of the debris belt within the hour. We'll speak again once we've cleared it unless necessity says otherwise."_

"Sounds good to me," Sara nodded, before deactivating the laptop and turning to the soldiers before her, "Gentlemen, you're dismissed. I suggest you get some rest. We have no idea if or when the Alliance will strike. You should take advantage of what down time we've got."

"Ma'am," the redcoats saluted, before turning towards the door.

"Oh and gents, if you see Westfield, tell him I'd like to see him as soon as possible," she smirked devilishly as she turned her attention to the reports, "I'd prefer it if that idiot would report in _before_ he decides to read whatever sexual deviancy that girlfriend of his puts into her letters."

* * *

"Has anyone seen Miriallia?"

Kira glanced up as Tolle came to join their little group amongst the bunks, his friend coming to a stop beside Sai and Flay.

"I think one of the ZAFT Reds said she was sleeping," Kuzzey frowned as he swung his legs from the top bunk, "Told us not to disturb her."

"And you believed him?" the timid teen winced at Tolle's harsh tone, "It was that guy, wasn't it? The one with brown hair and green eyes. The one that caught her before. I swear, if he's done anything to her…"

"Tolle, relax," Kira managed to grab his friend's shoulder before he managed to storm towards nearby greencoat, "I went to check up on her a minute ago. She's asleep, and I think it's best if she's left like that."

He felt a small pang of relief as the shoulder slumped in defeat.

"Guess you're right," he scowled slightly, "But if that guy even tried to touch her in the wrong way…"

"Ah, the jealous type," Sai smiled helplessly as he slung a comforting arm around Flay's shoulders, "Glad I'm not like that."

Tolle decided to ignore his bespectacled friend, "Anyway…Did they tell you anything about what would happen once we got to the PLANTs? I'm guessing that's where we're headed."  
"They're being kinda vague about it," Sai shrugged, "The greencoat that explained it to everyone didn't seem entirely sure of what was going on himself…"

"Well, we're definitely on the move."

"Miriallia!"

Tolle seemed to breath a sigh of relief as his brown haired girlfriend came round the corner, still rubbing sleep from her eyes, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she smiled sweetly as her boyfriend put a steadying arm around her shoulders, "I felt the ship move off while I was falling asleep. Wherever we're going, we're definitely on the move towards it," she frowned slightly, "There could still be Alliance forces around. If it were me, I'd probably do anything and everything I could to get my stolen property back."

"What? Anything?" Flay tensed slightly, her hand clasping around Sai's own appendage as her friend's words sunk in, "You mean we're less safe _now_ that we're on board? Say it isn't so!"

Kira gave her a strange look, "Would you rather have been left on that broken lifeboat? It's still in the Hanger if you've changed your mind."

Flay scowled slightly, "That's not what I meant. All things considered, I'd rather be back on Heliopolis, picking out clothes with Jessica and Misha…" she trailed off as she lent her head against Sai's shoulder, "I hope they're alright."

"Yeah, this isn't exactly the whole colony here," Kuzzey frowned as he watched several refugees amble by, "I hope my parents made it out okay."

"All districts were ordered to evacuate," Sai smiled reassuringly, "I'm sure their fine…"

"ELLE!!!"

Kira blinked in surprise as the voice cried out across the deck from the corridor, his hand tensing into a fist as he peered around the corner of the bunks, ready to attack if needs be.

Thankfully, the scene before him was much more heart-warming.

Standing a little further up the corridor, a young mother gratefully embraced her small daughter of no more then five, the child giving her parent a strange look as she appeared to be hugged to death.

Standing behind them, looking if nothing else a little amused, stood a certain ZAFT officer that had recently irked one of his friends.

"There he is," Kira jumped as Tolle's voice came from behind him, his voice low so as not to be overheard, "Look at him, all smug and content with himself. 'Oh look, I returned a child to it's mother. Everybody praise me!' Oh shit he's coming this way!"

* * *

The all too innocent looks that most of the group seemed to be wearing as I approached…disturbed me somewhat. However, I shook off my misgivings and presented a friendly smile, the simple gesture seeming to infuriate the Natural known as Tolle Koenig for reasons beyond my understanding.

"Good afternoon Gentlemen. Miss Allster, Miss Haw," the males of the group seemed a little uneasy to the formality I presented. Allster turned her head away in disgust. Miriallia merely nodded in greeting, "I trust you're all being treated alright?"

"As well as can be expected," Sai quickly interjected before Tolle seemed to want to say otherwise, "Thanks for letting us rejoin the other refugees."

"You all don't know anymore about this ship and it's weapons then most of the crew, there's no real need to keep you apart," I shrugged, before turning my attention to a certain brown haired Coordinator that had remained strangely quiet, "Accept for you though. You're Kira Yamato right? The Coordinator that reprogrammed the OS?"

Yamato seemed to flinch at the comment, his friends blinking in surprise as a certain awkwardness came over me.

Clearly he hadn't told anyone else.f

"What?" Allster was the first to pick up on it, "Are you telling me this Kira guy's a Coordinator too?"

"When you think about it, it's not that big of a mystery Flay," Miriallia scowled darkly at her friend's accusing manor, "Orb is a neutral nation. As such, some it's populace is made of people trying to escape the war, including Coordinators," she smiled slightly at Kira, "We've known Kira for years. It didn't matter to us what his genetics are like," she turned to regard her friend, "Why should it now?"

"I…well…"

"Kira Yamato is a Coordinator, but he _isn__'__t_ a soldier of ZAFT," I let a shaky smirk grace my lips as I tried to back up Miriallia's statement, "It takes a lot of courage to go into battle, but even more to turn away from a government's war," I sent a smile Kira's way, "I envy you. If I hadn't seen what happened at Junius Seven personally, I might've done the same thing."

Kira gave me a puzzled expression, but I decided to move on.

"Miss Haw, I wonder if you could do me a favour."

Tolle pulled his girlfriend a little closer.

"What kind of favour?"

"The babysitting kind," I jerked a thumb back the way I had come, Elle waving energetically in her parent's arms, "This isn't really a favour for me, more for that woman over there. This whole ordeal has been…taxing on her mind. She's exhausted. Her daughter however," I smiled slightly as I turned to wave back, "Well…she's only five, and full of energy, which isn't a good combination when you're confined to the bowels of a strange ship. The mother needs to sleep in the knowledge that her child won't wander off…again. I was just wondering if you could look after her for a few hours," I turned back to Miriallia with a smirk, "As a fellow refugee, I feel she'll probably be more at ease then if I found her a greencoat to play with, and I don't think Commander Michaels would appreciate the assignment considering we're short-handed as it is."

"Why Miriallia?" I couldn't help but notice the indignant look his girlfriend sent Tolle's way, "I mean there's got to be at least two dozen people to choose from, why this one girl?"

"Call it a gut feeling…coupled with the fact Miss Haw is the only refugee I've really talked too…"

"_Attention. All mobile suit pilots, please report to the Bridge immediately. Priority. I repeat, all mobile suit pilots report to the Bridge immediately."_

"Oh," I frowned as Mira's voice echoed over the speakers overhead, "Well, duty calls. So…will you do it?"

Miriallia seemed to regard me quietly, her blue eyes darting between me and little Elle, her teeth biting into her lip for a moment, before she shrugged off her surprised boyfriend's arm.

"Sure. Why not?" She smiled slightly, "It'll give us all something to do if nothing else."

* * *

"A distress signal?" Nicol's face betrayed obvious concern as I pushed off the elevator's wall onto Archangel's Bridge, "From within the Debris Belt?"

"That's what we're picking up," Sara nodded to me in greeting as I came to a halt behind her chair with my fellow pilots before turning back to the divided Comm. Screen above the main window where the images of Le Creuset and the fleet's other three Captains looked onto the cramped Command Centre expectantly, "Archangel's communication array is clearly far more advanced then anything mounted on the Laurasia or even the Nazca classes if they haven't heard it. The distress call was an automated beacon from a civilian ship, the Silverwind."

I'm sure I wasn't the only one to notice Athrun's form as it suddenly tensed at the name of the vessel in distress.

"S…Silverwind?" the blue haired pilot swallowed thickly, "Are…are you sure?"

"Pretty sure," the images of the three Captains and Commander were pushed into three corners of the Comm. Screen as a large map of the local area appeared between them, a large red dot blinking softly amid green lines and local space landmarks, "The signal itself is coming from around here, about thirty klicks out of our way. We don't know if that's where Silverwind is now however, or if the beacon itself as floated away from what remains of the ship."

"Silverwind…" Dearka frowned slightly, a single tanned finger tapping his forehead as though it would bring up forgotten memories, "Hey, wasn't that the name of the ship they were sending as part of the Memorial Delegation?"

"You're right," Nicol nodded in realisation, Athrun's hands clenching uneasily just behind him, "I'd forgotten how close we are to Bloody Valentine. Isn't Miss Lacus the Memorial's acting representative?"

I rose an eyebrow as Athrun's face suddenly went an interesting shade of green.

"Miss Lacus?" Dearka blinked in surprise, "Chairman Clyne's daughter?" He looked up at Zala across the Bridge, "Isn't she you're fiancée or something?"

Athrun didn't speak, he just nodded silently.

"_So…what are we going to do?"_ Tandar steeped his forefingers in front of him carefully, _"I'm aware that this mission hasn't been made public to the people of the PLANTs, but are we really going to ignore a cry for help from the Chairman's own daughter?"_

"A distress call is a distress call," I gave my former Captain a pointed look, "We're not under silent running here. I see no reason why we can't try and provide some assistance…"

"But neither do _I_ see any reason to send the entire fleet," Sara shook her head, "Our main objective is to get the Archangel back to the PLANTs, but that doesn't mean we can't send the Valiant or the Gamow to investigate," she turned to Le Creuset as the three images combined over the map, "We're only a week away from home. Changing course would add another day to our trip, and I think the techs would rather get their hands on this ship and the prototypes sooner rather then later…"

"But what if one ship isn't enough?" I glanced in bewilderment as Nicol, rather then my anticipated Athrun, spoke up urgently, "We have no idea how large the force was that attacked Miss Lacus' ship. What if they're still in the area?"

"It's a civilian shuttle Nicol," Yzak rolled his eyes to the ceiling, "It's not exactly a mobile fortress you know."

"But why was it attacked in the first place?" The green haired Coordinator continued to press, "It doesn't make any sense. Civilian shuttles are clearly marked as such, they don't even look like any of our warships. Something…just doesn't feel right about thi.,"

"What about you Zala? You've been awfully quiet about this?" I cocked an eyebrow as Athrun jumped at the sound of his own name, "I mean she's you're fiancée right? I'd of thought you'd be the first to want to be a knight in shining armour to save your pink haired damsel in distress."

I'd put him on the spot, and everyone in the room knew it.

"Well…I…" the pilot winced uncomfortably as all eyes turned on him, "I feel Commander Michaels is correct. To send the Valiant or the Gamow…or even both…would be an acceptable answer to the situation. The Archangel is returned to the PLANTs and Lacus will be safely returned to her father."

The hum of the Bridge's equipment became the loudest sound in the room until Sara folded her arms across her chest.

"It sounds kinda heartless when _you_ say it Zala,"  
"Why is it heartless?" Athrun stared at her in bewilderment, "I just suggested we send half our fleet to investigate!"

"Yeah, but you suggested the _wrong_ half Athrun," Yzak smirked slightly as he shook his head, "You're Clyne's Fiancé, everyone's kinda expecting you to be insisting we all turn around and rush in to save the day and not taking no for an answer. Instead we've got the invisible man and Junius Seven's own Evil Knievel doing all the whining while you actually agree with us. It's not that I'm complaining or anything; I think that need to get these machines back to the PLANTs so we can really tear them apart. I'm just telling you what we're all thinking."

"_Nonetheless, this situation presents a problem for us no matter which way we look at it,"_ Le Creuset frowned slightly on his and Ades' screen, _"As officers of ZAFT, we are duty bound to answer all distress calls, be them from fellow ZAFT vessels, those from the PLANTs_, _or even those from the other space worthy nations. At the same time, we must get the data at the very least back to the PLANTs as soon as possible. To send either the Gamow or the Valiant into a unknown situation would be unwise; The Gamow is without two of it's pilots with one out of commission, and the Valiant's only test pilot is on board the Archangel. With no pilots or mobile suits on one vessel and only one working machine and pilot on the other, it is possible that even a squadron of Moebius units would present a problem for the ships…"_

"What if we send Vesalius?_"_

Le Creuset regarded Sara quietly, _"__Do you really want to rely on two Eurasia frigates with little to no mobile suit back-up to escort you back to the PLANTs?__"_

My commander folded her arms across her just sulkily, "Not when you put it like that. But we're not exactly under-armed here. Archangel can handle itself if needs be,"

"_I disagree,"_ Le Creuset smiled sympathetically as Sara scowled, _"Please don't give me that look, this is not a slur against your abilities. Keep in mind that we have only had the best part of a day to understand this new technology. I would feel…more reassured…if Archangel was not alone if ambushed by the Alliance."_

"So…we're all going?"

"_It certainty appears that way,"_ The Masked Commander shrugged as Sara's shoulders slumped, Yzak's and Dearka's following suite, _"If anything this may be an excellent opportunity for the collection of more data on the Archangel and the prototypes. We will make best speed for the source of the distress signal, once we're in range, Nicol will deploy in the Blitz, and use the cover of mirage colloid to ascertain if there is a threat in the local area. Westfield and the Strike with Launcher attachment will provide long range artillery fire as back-up if needed. The rest of you will be on stand-by until further notice. Any question?"_

"Yeah, I have one," Dearka smirked, "Can we get a move on? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we get home!"

* * *

"_Look at that…Junius Seven."_

I felt a lump develop in the pit of my stomach as I observed the sight before me, my hands clenching over the Strike's control sticks as I took in what remained of the colony I had failed to protect.

Before us lay the largest ruined remains of Junius Seven; an entire continent of immense size, most of it's surface dyed a purplish blue from the frozen water that covered it, massive cables that had once held thick glass now drifting lazily in zero gravity. All around us, debris spun listlessly across space. From tractors and cars to entire tree and full fledged buildings ripped from their foundations.

And every so often, the body of some innocent civilian swung by, an image of terror and fear forever etched onto their faces for all eternity.

I was just glad I'd skipped lunch before heading out.

"_Marcus?"_

"Hm?"

"_You okay?"_ Nicol regarded me worriedly on the comm. screen, a slight shimmer on my screen ahead indicating his cloaked Blitz had turned round to look at me, _"You look a little sick,"_

"I'm fine," I smiled half heartedly, "Bad memories that's all. Keep going Nicol, I've got your back,"

The green haired pilot didn't seem to be reassured, but nodded anyway, another slight shimmer in the darkness before me indicating he had moved on.

"How's the Mirage Colloid holding up?"

"_Good. Dispersion loss rate is thirty seven percent," _He sent a smirk my way, _"As long as we're done within the next eighty minutes, I should be okay,"_

"We shouldn't take that long," I smiled to myself as my eyes scanned the screens before me, "The distress signal is coming in strong. You should be right on top of it within five minutes,"

"_Roger that. I think…yes, there it is!"_

* * *

Rotating slowly out from behind a chunk of earth ripped from it's artificial home, Nicol sucked in a tense breath as he watched the green and white remains of the Silverwind drifted into view.

It's hull was scorched and pocketed with weapons fire, machinery and debris drifted lazily from gaping holes in the zero gravity, but what concerned the pilot the most was the large crater where the Bridge had once sat.

"Something tells me this ship wasn't simply caught by flying debris," Nicol frowned as the Blitz approached the wreck, an invisible hand tracing the remains of the Bridge as sparks arced across the vacuum, "The hull shows signs of a battle damage, and the Bridge looks like someone put a mobile suit sized fist through it. No survivors,"

"_A mobile suit?"_ Marcus arced an eyebrow, _"Are you sure? But Miss Lacus is practically loved by everybody! Why would one of our own pilots suddenly try to commit such a mutiny?"_

Nicol merely grimaced, "I never said it was a ZAFT machine that did this,"

"_Well that would mean…oh…" _realisation dawned in Westfield's eyes, _"Alliance mobile suits…but that's not possible. We have all five prototypes…don't we?"_

"It's not just the crater, it's the weapons impacts as well," the green haired Coordinator turned his suit's camera to the main hull, "There's no way a GINN could have made these marks. If I had to guess, I'd say this damage was caused by rifle sized beam technology…"

"_Which we've only found on the machines we captured,"_ Marcus gritted his teeth angrily as he slammed a fist against an armrest, _"Damn…they have more prototypes. Our intelligence was way off! I'll notify Le Creuset, they might still be in the area,"_

"Right. I'll look for survivors in the meantime," Nicol turned his attention to the debris ridden space before him, "There might not be survivors on the ship itself, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of life pods,"

* * *

"_What's he doing now?"_

"_Dunno. He's just…floating there. Why doesn't he investigate? The ship's right there!!"_

"_Do we attack him? Maybe his fellows will come running,"_

"_Don't be stupid! We don't know where the others are. They could be miles away, and the drug isn't exactly permanent,"_

"_Hey, there's three of us and five of them right? Even if we only took down one, that evens the playing field a bit…"_

"_Have you _seen_ the size of the cannon he's got mounted to his back? We'd be fried before we're halfway across this dump!"_

"_Don't shout at me!"_

"_Then don't be so pathetically stupid!_

Shani scowled darkly as his supposed 'comrades' continued to bicker over the open comm. Channel as they hide amid the debris of Junius Seven, his hand clenching tightly around his Forbidden's control sticks as his ears longed for his beloved music player.

He was better then this, better then his two fellows combined. With the capsule of fluid in his hand, he knew he would be damn near unstoppable. Against that one machine, he would be able to slice the suit in two before it had even brought it's weapon to bear.

So…he made a decision.

"_Hey! Shani! Where the hell do you think your going!?"_

* * *

"_Marcus look out! Eight o'clock!"_

"What?!"

I didn't even managed to bring the Agni to bear before the object's of Nicol's alarm came into view.

Leaping from out behind a passing asteroid, I barely managed to take in the massive dome that appeared to be the machine's head before it's scythe came down, narrowly missing the Strike's head by inches as I barely managed to dodge clear.

"A new mobile armour? No…" My eyes widened as the dome retreated to the machine's back, pale arms and legs now visible as the enemy circled round for another attack, "A mobile suit…no," I recognised the all to familiar v-shaped crest atop the mech's pearl white head, it's scythe raised offensively before it's onyx chest, "A…A Gundam!"

The scythe came down…

* * *

"Strike, please confirm, you're breaking up!" Sara cast a wary look down into the CIC below as Mira pressed her earpiece harder into the side of her head, "A what…A Gundam?"

"Gundam?" The Commander frowned as Sanchez continued to frantically try and sustain a stable communication, "That sounds familiar…"

"Isn't that what Westfield calls his machine?" Kamna glanced back from the helm, "The Strike Gundam or something?"

"_He's referring to the prototypes OS,"_ Despite the situation, Athrun smirked on the comm. Screen as Dearka and Yzak seemed to share a grin below him, _"General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver. Take the first letter from each…"_

"And you get Gundam," Even Sara smiled slightly, "That idiot. What am I going to do with him? Sanchez, what's Westfield blabbering about?"

"Ma'am, Westfield has confirmed contact with a previously unknown type of Gundam, another Earth Alliance prototype,"

The smile quickly vanished from the whitecoat's lips.

"_Another_ Gun…prototype? But I thought we had all of them!"

"Apparently not," Mira frowned as she pressed the earpiece harder against her ear, "Amalfi also confirms two more unknown units, he's engaging them now…"

"Zala, Joule, Elsmen, launch immediately," Sara was on her feet before Sanchez had even finished her sentence, "All engines to maximum. And would someone kindly inform Le Creuset his intel. was off…_way_ off!"

* * *

"Fall, damn you!"

120mm shells sliced through the darkness of space from the shoulder mounted vulcan cannon as my opponent ducked and weaved through asteroids and space debris, only for my efforts to be rewarded by a pair of yellow beams from the Gundam's rail guns.

"Dammit, this isn't good," I bit my lip as I was once more forced onto the defensive, "If I'd known I was going to be fighting mobile suits I'd of brought the Aile. I just can't get into a decent firing position. Hey Nicol, any chance of a hand here?"

"_Sorry, but you're on your own…ugh!" _Amalfi winced as the Blitz seemed to take a hit of it's own, _"I've got machines of my own to deal with,"_

It only took a glance into my right hand camera to see what he meant.

Fighting valiantly near the wreckage of the Silverwind, the Blitz fought off another two suits; a bluish machine with high powered cannons and transformable mech that seemed to change shape between humanoid and a hawk-like form before my eyes.

"Dammit, they're just like our own machines…" I bit down on my lip as the domed Gundam came in for another assault, the blunt side of it's scythe smashing into the Strike's head, the mobile suit careening blear as the weapon's sharper edge narrowly missed it's arm, "Are they Coordinators?"

"_I _really_ don't have time to ponder that right now!"_ a barrage of missiles erupted from the Blitz's arm as the blue Gundam swooped in too close, two of it's large cannons exploding into a brief spurt of flame on impact as the target fought for control, _"They seem pretty distracted though, like their working on fighting instinct, almost like…"_

"_MAKE WAY FOR THE CAVALRY!!!"_

As it leapt off a nearby asteroid, it's scythe held high above it's head, I couldn't help but green as a blood red beam of energy arced across the darkness, the shield like appendages barely blocking the incoming attack as the Aegis soared overhead.

"_Can't even leave you alone for a few hours can we?"_ Dearka smirked as the Buster came to my side, the Duel following the Aegis to aid the Blitz, _"Who are your playmates?"_

"You got me," I smirked as I brought the Agni to bear. My targets aligning as I locked onto the hawk-shaped Gundam across the battlefield, "But in all honesty, I'm glad for the unfair advantage,"

* * *

They…were loosing…

Locked in a running beam fight with the mobile armour form of the Aegis, Shani gritted his teeth angrily as he watched a beam of orange light sliced through the debris field into the left wing of the Raider.

His comrades were weak and pathetic. Even with the enhancements of Gamma Glipheptin, both Orga and Clotho were clearly inept as pilots of these great machines Azreal had presented them with. You only had to look at the damage to the Raider and Calamity and compare it with his own Forbidden to see his skills were far superior to theirs.

As the Aegis broke it's attack to dodge clear of a tractor that had clearly been blown out into space from the colony below, Shani let a smile grace his lips as he lazily let his targeting scopes drift over the smoking form of the Raider, Orga clearly fighting for control as his suit reeled fromt eh blasts.

"No one would ever know," he smirked, "One shot and bang!…Yeah…you're better off de…"

He stopped, a familiar twitch flitting through his heart.

"No…not now!"

Within seconds a full wave of pure agony ripped through his body. Every nerve was aflame, even his eyes felt like they were being gouged from their sockets.

Judging from the pain ridden screams of his fellow pilots, it was clear they were suffering the same fate.

Mercifully, three balls of light erupted into existence amid the debris of Junius Seven; the return signal from the Doolittle.

With what little energy he had left, Shani set the Forbidden's autopilot to return home, before succumbing to his pain and screaming aloud, long and hard as the Archangel and it's escorts finally made it onto the scene.

* * *

"Enemy in full retreat Ma'am,"

"I can see that," Sara smirked as she leaned her head against her fist, "Damn, we come out ready to go down guns blazing, and they turn tail and run…"

"_It's probably because they saw the ships coming in the first place,"_ Yzak leaned back the Duel's cockpit chair with an air of superiority, _"Five prototype mobile suits is one thing, but with an advanced warship and three escorts bringing up the rear? They'd have never stood a chance…"_

"_I'm not so sure about that,"_ Marcus frowned uneasily, _"These three machines were definitely something else. You just have to look at their weaponry to see that. If they'd fought as a team…I think there might not have been anything for the Archangel to find by the time it got here,"_

"Always got to be the sourpuss Westfield?"

The pilot scowled, _"__I__'__m just concerned Ma__'__am. We were only aware of the five mobile suits we__'__ve already captured, now we have three more machines with advanced weaponry and abilities that we know nothing about. What if there are more of them out there? What do we do? Are we going to go after them?__"_

"_No," _Le Creuset's stern masked features appeared between the pilot's screens, _"We have already expended all of our available resources acquiring the first five prototypes and the Archangel. If we attempt to go after these three new machines, we may very well loose the ones we have already taken from the Alliance in the process. Nicol, Westfield, have you recovered any escape pods from the Silverwind?"_

"_Negative,"_ the green haired pilot shook his head, _"But Commander, we'd only just found the wreck of the Silverwind when the Alliance suits attacked, if you give us fifteen minutes we can properly…"_

"_No, we cannot stay here any longer then necessary. Westfield is right, the retreat of the new suits was abrupt, and they may have reinforcements. Once we have loaded the prototypes back onto the Archangel…"_

"_Are we just going to leave her then?"_

"Now_ you choose to take our side?" _Marcus seemed to glare across space to where Athrun sat stunned within the cockpit of the Aegis, _"You choose _this _moment to get concerned?"_

"_This is an different situation!" _Zala snapped, _"Before coming here would mean back-tracking and only adding to our journey home, but now we're here…" _his voice drifted off as his hands flexed uneasily around his suit's control sticks, _"I…care about Lacus. We've known each other for as long as I can remember…" _determination returned to his voice, _"At the time I thought if the Alliance managed to take back these captured machines, the war would have taken a bloody turn for the worse. But if the Earth Forces still have at least three other prototypes in their procession, then it doesn't matter what we do now. The Naturals will still be able to develop mobile suits regardless. Lacus is my Fiancée, but if the war ended quicker at the cost of her life…I saw that as acceptable,"_ he seemed to glance across the screen towards Marcus, _"I was wrong. We should search for her now, while we have the chance,"_

"_I'm afraid it is not your call,"_ Le Creuset shook his head, his voice containing the barest hint of remorse within it's tones, _"We have already wasted enough time with this argument as it is. The loss of Lacus Clyne is…regrettable, but we can no longer search for a woman who may already be dead,"_

A lump developed in Sara's throat as everyone in sight seemed to flinch at the thought. The death of the PLANTs Songstress would be a huge blow to morale if nothing else. And as for what it would do to her father…

"_I will give you ten minutes to load up the prototypes,"_ Rau's voice returned to it's usual calm tone, _"Then we must resume our course for home…that's all we can do now,"_

* * *

"So that's just it?" I stared at the Comm. Screens above my head as Le Creuset terminated his channel, "We didn't even get a chance to properly search. Miss Lacus might be alive!"

"_What can we do?"_ Dearka sighed as Yzak shrugged nonchalantly, _"We're just humble pilots Westfield, they give us orders, we follow them…"_

"_But we're not part of the Le Creuset Team,"_ Nicol piped up, _"Commander Michaels…we were temporarily assigned to your team until further notice right?"_

"_But the Valiant is assigned to Le Creuset's command,"_ Sara scowled, _"And I'm assigned to the Valiant, as is everyone under my command. That means even though I'm a fellow whitecoat, technically I'm under Rau's jurisdiction, as are all those I command. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, Le Creuset is right. We can't sacrifice this mission for one person, even if it is the daughter of the Supreme Chairman. The Alliance has shown us their hand; they have three other prototypes out there and once more it's possible they might be right on our tail. Before we thought we had time to conduct a proper search of the area, now we know we don't. Do as the masked man says gents, I want you all on board in ten minutes. No complaining. Archangel out,"_

I glared angrily at the comm. Screen as it turned blank. To be sure I had butted heads with my Commander more times then I could remember since I had been assigned to her, but this…

If it had been Ellion out here, I knew she wouldn't have been as hasty to get underway.

"_Guess that's it,"_ Dearka sighed with a helpless shrugged, _"Can't be helped I guess. Athrun, you okay buddy?"_

"_Y…Yeah,"_ my blue haired comrade looked decidedly pale behind his helmet's visor, his voice shaky and weak, _"I just…don't know how I'm going to explain this to her father,"_

We lapsed into silence at our friend's weak tones as Yzak and the Duel made it's way towards Archangel's open hanger, my hands clenching around the Strike's control sticks as I turned to view the remains of Junius Seven before us for a final time.

This wasn't fair, this wasn't even right. If those new machines hadn't interrupted us, we might have had so much longer to do a more detailed search. For all we knew Miss Lacus might have been a few klicks away, or even right under our noses, hidden amidst the wreckage…

And that's when I saw it.

Had I turned back to the Archangel a moment sooner, I would have missed it; a pair of pinpricks of light, each a dark crimson, apparently embedded into large crack in the cratered surface of a massive asteroid, easily three kilometres across, rotating slowly in the darkness.

"What the…"

"_Marcus, are you coming?"_ Nicol's face reappeared on my comm. Screen, _"Come on, Athrun's almost on board. You wanna go next?"_

"No, you go ahead," I didn't take my eyes of the lights, half afraid I would loose sight of them if I even blinked, "Take your time though okay? I have to check something out,"  
_"__But Marcus__…"_

I terminated communication automatically as I pressed the accelerator to the floor, the Strike lurching forward silently in the vacuum towards the massive chuck of rock.

"_Westfield, what are you doing?" _As the dark grey craters quickly dominated my view, Michaels irritated features appeared on the Comm. Screen, _"Get back here immediately, we've got to leave now!"_

"Just give me a minute," I scowled slightly, but I didn't take my eyes off the blinking lights, "I might have found something…"  
_"__Westfield don__'__t make me come get you,__"_Sara's features became dark, _"__You__'__ve been ordered back to the ship, so get your ass back here!__"_

"Just a minute," I hissed quietly as I approached the crack in the celestial object's side, "I think I might have found a life pod. Judging by the distance from the Silverwind, it's possible it might have gotten lodged in this fissure soon after launch. This Asteroid seemed to have a high density too. It's possible it's actually jamming the pod's radio frequencies. I'll contact you once I've confirmed my hunch. I won't be more then a minute I promise,"

"_Westfield,"_ Sara's eyes widened as I reached for the comm. Panel, _"Westfield don't you dare…"_

The screen blanked out with the flick of a switch.

* * *

Sara stared at the screen above the main window incredulously, her mouth agape as she tried to comprehend the events that had just taken place.

"That jerk hung up on me!"

* * *

Darkness engulfed the Strike as it slowly stepped into the mobile suit sized fracture, it's camera's switching to night vision as the light of the sun was blotted out.

"No, not a fissure, a man made tunnel," I spoke aloud, if anything so I could break the silence that surrounded me, "Looks like this was a mining asteroid. These smaller tunnels look like they made to get at the deposits further in. I wonder what happened here that caused them to abandon the project so early?"

I didn't have time to think about it for too long though.

A few steps further in, and the greenish form of a ZAFT life pod crept into view, it's lights still blinking faintly, it's hull pitted and scratched from where it had embedded itself in the rock.

"Did they eject it directly into the asteroid?" I frowned, "Maybe they didn't have a choice,"

Hesitantly I switched to thermal imagining, an uneasy image of a cold pod filling my mind as I focused in on the coffin-esque capsule before.

Much to my relief, a large red humanoid blotch appeared within the pod's metal confines, although a strangely smaller blob that seemed to be bouncing around caused my eyebrows to hike up in concern.

Regardless, the fact of the matter was I had found someone alive amid the ruins of Junius Seven, and I wasn't about to leave him or her alone out here, regardless of if it was Lacus Clyne or not.

"It looks like the asteroid's density stopped the pod from getting too deeply entrenched," with hesitant hands I slowly moved the Strike's counterparts to the sides of the pod, the connection confirmed with only the slightest of thumps that vibrated through the cockpit, "Now I just have to get back to the ship…and hope the Commander doesn't kill me when I get there…"

* * *

She didn't.

But to say Sara Michaels looked…irritated…would have been an understatement.

A dark scowl was etched into her pretty features as I descended from the Strike to the hanger floor, a vein throbbing painfully at her temple as she tried to remain calm…at least until I hit the deck.

"Westfield…" her voice was deadly calm, but barely contained, "Would you mind explaining _why_ you saw fit to disobey orders? You were told to return to the ship immediately, not go gallivanting off into the night while the Earth Forces could be right on our collective tails! So…" she arched her eyebrows expectantly, "Care to share? Or should I just throw you in with the prisoners down below?"

I regarded her quietly as I pulled my helmet from my head with a hiss of the seal breaking. When I finally spoke, I chose my words carefully.

"Junius Seven has seen enough death already. I wasn't about to leave another innocent to die out there," I narrowed my eyes slightly, "I thought _you_ of all people would understand that,"

The meaning hit home without emphasis. Her eyes widened as my words sunk in, her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, her voice devoid of sound.

I smiled slightly.

"Nice to know I was right,"

"Marcus…that's not fair," her shoulders slumped as her voice dulled to a low whisper, "You can't…I can't…Ugh…" the scowl returned slightly, but she appeared more irritated then angry, "Alright fine. We'll chalk it up to the fact you're an engineer not a soldier and you've still got your conscience intact. Just…don't talk to me for a while,"

I nodded with a salute.

"Yes Ma'am,"

"I said don't talk to me!"

I flinched slightly as she stalked away, only to allow a private smile to grace my features as I watched her back disappear into the crowd of a dozen or so that had conjoined around the life pod.

It was nice to see we understood each other in our own way.

"Wow. I thought she was really going to take you're head off buddy," Dearka smirked as he came up behind me, Nicol and a disgruntled Yzak following just behind, all still clad in their crimson pilot suits, "You should have seen the way she was ranting before you came in. I thought for sure she'd drag you behind the ship by a cable all the way back to the PLANTs…and take a detour through the rest of the debris belt for good measure,"

"She just needed to understand," I shrugged as the blond pushed by towards the crowd, causing me to follow the three with curiosity, "And speaking about understanding…why does it look like half the crew is here?"

"Why else?" Yzak sniggered, "You just might have brought everyone's favourite Songstress into our midst Westfield, most of the male populous would kill just to get a look at her up close…" he cocked an eyebrow at several members of the crowd, "and a few of the female ones too by the look of it,"

"And where's Athrun?"

"Over there," Nicol indicated to the pod where our comrade nervously stood, decked out in his normal uniform, "Commander Michaels had a uniform brought down from him the moment you took off, just in case it is Miss Lacus in there,"

"And…" I felt my own eyebrows rise as we came to a halt near a stack of crates near the centre back of the crowd, "Why is Le Creuset here?"

"He's the Commander of the operation," Dearka shrugged, "He's the reason security's here too before you ask. Just in case it turns out to be something more explosive then Miss Lacus…and not in a good way. Although for the life of me I can't figure out how he got here so fast…"

"'Kay, I'm all set. We can open when ready,"

A sudden silence crossed the expansive hanger as Canestro's voice ended out conversation, all eyes turning expectantly to the pod before us as I leaned against the anchored crates in the zero gravity.

"Proceed Mr. Canestro," Le Creuset nodded as he indicated to the armed soldiers with a gloved hand, "You three stand by. Considering we encountered the Earth Forces recently, this may all be an elaborate trap on their part,"

The clicks of several safety catches being disengaged confirmed his order.

"Alright, opening it up now,"

There was a mechanical hiss as the main bulkhead opened upwards, followed by the low groan of the entry hatch as it lowered to form a gangway, useless in the zero-gs.

For a moment, there was silence, the small crowd waiting in earnest for the pod's occupant to reveal his or her self from the dark confines within.

Then…

"Haro? Haro! ATHRUN LET'S PLAY!!!"

In an instant a single pink blur shot out of the pod like a bullet from a pistol, it's target clear as day as it sped towards Athrun's stunned face, only to be caught mere inches from the blue haired coordinator's nose.

"H-Haro?"

"Thank you! I appreciate you're assistance,"

All attention towards the sudden departure of the pod's first occupant quickly disappeared as a second more humanoid passenger pulled herself clear from the darkness and pushed off into the zero gravity.

I felt my heart jump as I recognised her pale face and flowing bubblegum pink hair, my mouth suddenly dry as I took in her smiling features and elegant frame.

Lacus Clyne: Our Songstress of the PLANTs.

* * *

I know the major question of the day is why the three druggies and thier Gundams have appeared earlier then normal. There _is_ a good reason for this...but You're just going to have to keep on reading to find out!

Anyway, if you've got any questions you want answering just leave them in a review and I'll answer them as best I can without spoiling too much.

Speaking of reviews, a lot of people seeming to be faving and putting alerts on this fic (Are those the right terms? I hope you know what I mean anyway.), but not many people are leaving reviews. Don't get me wrong, I don't write this stuff for praise or anything, but a bit of constructive critisim goes a long way.

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and with any luck I'll have the next one out sometime next month.

All the best,

Dearing


	6. The Long Road Home

**PHASE 05**

**THE LONG ROAD HOME**

"I have to admit, I'm disappointed in you boys," Azrael scowled deeply at the sight before him, "I came up here expecting at least one mobile suit returned to us or destroyed, but what do I find instead? To fail is disappointing in itself, but to fail on your first real mission out…well, that's just a disgrace."

In all honesty, the blond man very much doubted any of the three pilots before him could hear a word he said.

Sprawled out across three medical beds within the Doolittle's sick bay, the three pilots of Earth Alliance's remaining mobile suit prototypes screamed in agony as their bodies convulsed with pain beneath the leather restraints. Sweat beaded down their faces and clung to their hair as spittle foamed from their mouths, their eyes wide and insane as they tried to contain their suffering.

"You were supposed to be the best of the First Generations. The crème of Lodonia's crop! Instead all I see is three pathetic losers who can't get their acts together to take down _two_ mobile suits before their friends arrived. You machines were the second generation prototypes, you should have been able to take them down before Archangel even got into range. You're pathetic, all of you! And if I don't see an improvement over your last effort, then the pain your feeling right now will be like a pin prick in comparison, understand?"

Anguished screams were the only reply, but Azrael knew his point was made.

* * *

"So…what do we do now?" Admiral Sutherland gave the businessman a pointed look as he exited the sickbay, the agony-ridden shrieks cut off immediately at the door hissed close, "Can we really trust them to do their jobs?"

"I'm afraid we can't really do much else," Azrael sighed with a smile as he held up his hands in resignation, "We're still a little ways off perfecting a useable mobile suit for us normal folk. At the moment they're all we have. If we still had the five other prototypes we could simply assign more Extended to the ship…" he smirked at the older man as he walked past, "But then we wouldn't even be in this situation if it was that simple right?"

"What about the other three initial models?"

"I'd rather save them for rainy day," the blond merely smiled enigmatically as the Admiral joined him at his side, "Our upgrades to those machines are almost complete, as is the warship they'll be assigned too. We even have the perfect pilots picked out. All that remains now however is to figure out how to make them move faster then an asthmatic snail."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"Why Admiral, I thought that would have been obvious," Sutherland looked perplexed as Azrael suddenly turned towards the Brig, "Didn't you see the DNA report on that pilot who tried to intervene on the operation? He's a Natural, yet he piloted that mobile suit of his as good as any Coordinator, maybe even better. It's too bad he fried everything before we could take him in. At least we have the next best thing."

A sharp thump followed by a strangled cry greeted the two men as they entered the darkened Brig, a spray of blood splattering across the pillar of light from the doorway, the shadows beyond moving and struggling before the light.

"That will do for now gentlemen. I'd like to see his face if you please."

There was no verbal acknowledgment, but after a short pause, a body was thrown into the light, bloodied and bruised, sweat beading down his panting face as the victim groaned pathetically.

"You're name is Lowe Guele correct?" the body moaned as the blond man crouched down beside him, "Of the Junker's Guild if I'm not mistaken. I'm told you put up a fight defending the Clyne brat…in a mobile suit apparently. I'm not really convinced, but that's where you're here," the prisoner yelped as his head was pulled from the floor by the chin, his eyes wide and afraid as he stared into the bright blue orbs of Muruta Azrael, "So, to convince me and Admiral Sutherland here…you are going to tell me everything you know about piloting that pretty red mobile suit you destroyed."

* * *

Lacus Clyne.

I couldn't think of a single Coordinator that didn't know her name.

She was a promoter of peace, an idol to many, a talented singer…

And she was floating away…

Having pushed off too hard from the side of the pod, the songstress' eyes widened in surprise as she sailed clear over the crowd, the large skirt flying out behind giving the impression it had become a sail to a large gust of wind in some kind of old fashioned cartoon.

"Oh my," the pink haired pop idol frowned as a dozen or so faces stared up at her with various styles of amazement and perplexity, "I'm so sorry, you must all think me to be terrible rude."

Her sudden flails only seemed to push her further out of reach as she glided across the hanger, all eyes watching as she tried to get closer to the ground.

And she was coming this way.

Deciding to end Miss Lacus' unplanned trip, with a simple tap of my heel against the deck, I slowly eased up in the zero-g into her flight path, leaving a steadying hand on the anchored crates behind me as I offered a hand to the flying Princess.

"Oh!" her big blue eyes blinked in surprise as a pilot that suddenly appeared in her way, only to smile in gratitude as she eased a dainty hand into mine, "Thank you very much."

"You're…you're welcome," I returned the gesture shakily as I pulled her down to the deck. It wasn't everyday you met a celebrity after all, "And…erm…welcome."

Lacus cocked her head slightly to one side as she continued to smile.

"When I felt something grab hold of the life pod, I was actually afraid the Earth Forces had found me," the smile suddenly disappeared as a thought occurred to her, "You're not a Alliance officer in disguise are you?"

"What? No!" I blinked in surprise, only to bite my tongue at my outburst, "I mean no. I'm a Coordinator, a test pilot for the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit. This is a ZAFT ship…at least…"

"Lacus?"

A pang of relief flowed through my veins as Athrun's voice called through the crowd, the strange pink robot that had 'assaulted' him earlier flapping it's ears contentedly in his hands

"Athrun?" Lacus' face lit up at the sight of her fiancé, "What an unexpected surprise! I didn't expect to see you until I returned to the PLANTs."

"I'm on a mission," the blue haired pilot smiled fondly, before hesitantly hold out the robot towards her, "I erm…caught this Haro for you."

"Oh! Thank you," she smiled warmly as he tapped the ball towards it's owner, "I'm sure he was just happy to see his creator. You don't seem to visit us as much as you used too. I'm sure it's not your fault though."

The smile faltered on Athrun's face as he let his hands drop to his sides.

"Sorry," he bowed apologetically, "I was meaning to visit when I returned but…"

"Miss Clyne."

I smirked slightly as yet another pilot was spared embarrassment as the crowd parted like the Red Sea to let our joint commanders through, Le Creuset smiling almost warmly with his arms open in welcome.

"I am glad to see that you are safe and Miss Clyne. I am Commander Rau Le Creuset, the head of this operation."

"Commander Sara Michaels, head of the Michaels Team and Acting Captain of the Archangel," Sara nodded solemnly beside the masked man, "It's an honour Miss Clyne."

"Oh…well…Thank you very much," the pink haired girl seemed a little stunned at my Commander's formality, but nodded in acceptance all the same, "I can't tell you how grateful I am to you for retrieving the life pod…"

If she had known that both Rau, Sara and even her own Fiancé at one point had been more then willing to leave her behind for the sake of the mission, I had a feeling Miss Lacus might not have been quite so grateful.

"Perhaps it would be best if we continued our discussion in private," the masked Commander continued to smile as he indicated to the exit, "Athrun come with us. The rest of you, as you were."

The sound of two dozen salutes cracked through the air at his words, all eyes watching the small group float across the hanger towards the alcove that housed the doors to the rest of the ship.

As I watched them go however, I couldn't help but notice how Athrun kept close to his Lacus, and yet seemed to constantly make sure there was a gap between them.

"Well, that certainty made my day," Dearka sighed with a smirk as the doors closed behind them, the crowd dispersing as they excitedly talked amongst themselves, "Getting to see the great Lacus Clyne is one thing, but her panties too? That was a bo…OW!!!" the blond saw stars as Yzak smacked him sharply round the back of the head, "What was that for?"

"For being a pervert you idiot!" the white haired pilot scowled as a dark blush stained his cheeks, "No wonder you can't keep a date for more then a week with an attitude like that!"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying you need a new personality!"

"Oh boy," Nicol smiled sympathetically as the two teens dissolved into pointless bickering, "Well, at least you can tell their good friends. The last thing we need is another fight on our hands," he turned to me with a smile, "Besides, if anyone's lucky here, it's you. I mean you actually got to _speak_ with Miss Lacus, and even hold her hand."

"I wouldn't really call it speaking to her," I chuckled lightly as I watched our comrades spit off one insult after the other, "And I don't think it would have looked good for the ship if we'd all just watched her fly across the Hanger."

"Maybe," Amalfi shrugged, "So what are you going to do now? Get some sleep?"

"Probably. I think I might get changed and go check up on the refugees first though. I doubt Sara or Le Creuset have thought about updating them on the situation."

* * *

"Once again, I feel I must thank you for retrieving the life pod," Lacus smiled gratefully towards the two Commanders before her, Athrun standing at her shoulder, "When it landed inside the asteroid, I was afraid I would never be found."

Rau merely smiled in return. Having taken their meeting to the more private sanctum of the Captain's Office, he sat quietly with fingers steeped in the large backed chair behind the desk, Sara Michaels at his shoulder.

"We are all glad we could have been of assistance Miss Clyne, although credit for your discovery should go to Mr. Westfield of course. If he had looked away at the wrong moment, there was a chance we would never have found you. And with the Alliance on our tail, we might have lost you forever."

"Then I'm glad Mr. Westfield was a part of your team," the Songstress' smile waned slightly, "With that said, I do wish you had found us sooner. Perhaps if we had encountered each other a few hours earlier, the crew of the Silverwind might still be alive. I do not blame you of course, but still…"

"Yes, I understand," the masked man nodded as he watched Athrun hesitantly placed a comforting hand on his fiancée's shoulder, "We all have events from our lives we wish we could redo, however now is not the time to consider such things. As I said before, with this recent attack, it is clear that Alliance Forces are in the area, which makes our collective lives all the more difficult. While I cannot rely any details of our current mission, I can say that that it is vital we get the data we have acquired back to the homeland as soon as possible."

"I hope I haven't added to your problems."

"No, of course not. We would never dream of blaming you for events that were out of your hands. That said, the attack on the Silverwind gave us more data to be delivered, which only adds to the urgency of the situation."

"So what do you suggest we do Le Creuset?" Michaels arched an eyebrow inquisitively, "Even at best speed we're still a week away from the nearest PLANT, and that's not accounting for the twenty-two hours it will take us to get out of the belt,"

"Right now, our main concern is getting the data we've recovered back to the PLANTs. Therefore I suggest once we have cleared the belt that we send a shuttle on ahead, perhaps with one of the captured mobile suits and its pilot so that it can be properly analysed. A smaller and faster craft can make a week long journey in half the time, and once more we will be able to return Miss Clyne back to her Father at the same time. Miguel also needs proper medical attention, so we will be able to kill three birds with one stone. I will also head out with them to deliver my report. That means control of the fleet goes to you Sara. I trust you can keep one step ahead of the Alliance forces?"

"It's not like I have much choice," the red head sighed with a resigned grin, "I'm assuming you'll be heading home with them and the Aegis then Zala?"

"Ma'am?"

"Well…Miss Clyne is your fiancée, and from the sounds of it you do have some catching up to do."

Athrun winced, his hand clenching slightly against Lacus' shoulder.

"With respect Commander…I must put this mission before my personal feelings. The Aegis is the most complicated of the five machines we've captured, and I believe we could gather more data about its transformation capabilities in the field then we could in a lab."

A short pause followed.

"That's a pretty lame excuse Zala."

The redcoat shot Michaels a dark look, but remained otherwise mute. Lacus stared up at him with thoughtful eyes, but decided to follow her fiancé's example.

"If you do not wish to go, then I see no reason not to select one of the other pilots," Rau frowned behind his mask as he sat back in the chair, "Do you have any suggestions Athrun?"

"Actually…I'd recommend Nicol and the Blitz sir," the words came after only a moments thought, "Since it's clear the Earth Forces will be chasing us, the time for stealth has long past, and I don't believe we'll have the chance to initiate any Blitzkrieg warfare against them. Considering that all units share the same basic frame and the Mirage Colloid may prove useful not only for future mobile suits but for future warships as well, I believe it would make a suitable substitute,"

The Commanders shared a glance, as though conversing without the use of words, before Sara shrugged, clearly washing her hands of the situation.

"Very well then," Le Creuset nodded sombrely, "I will inform Nicol of his new orders, and Sara will have the shuttle and the Blitz prepared by the time we exit the Debris Belt. In the meantime please escort Miss Clyne to some private quarters," he smiled again at the pink haired princess, "We shall be beyond the Belt in around a day. In the meantime, we shall try and keep you as comfortable as we can."

Lacus merely smiled sweetly as she rose from her chair.

"Thank you Commander. I appreciate all you have done for me so far. I will try not to burden you any further."

* * *

The refugee deck was surprisingly quiet when I arrived ten minutes later after departing from the hanger. Families and friends clustered together in small groups around bunks and across the tables of the common area, most trying to keep each others' spirits up, but some huddled up in corners, talking together in harsh whispers.

According to the greencoat by the door however, there had been no disruptions since my last visit. In fact, according to the soldier, most if not all of Heliopolis' survivors had pretty much accepted that they were on board for the long haul, and had just tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible.

"Do we really have to tell them sir?" the greencoat cast a lazy eye over a nearby group, "I mean they seem to be pretty content to just wait it out until we reach the PLANTs…"

"If we don't inform them of recent events, they might get restless," I frowned slightly as I surveyed one of the aforementioned corner groups warily, "We've kept them contained to this area like livestock in a pen. If they were prisoners of war I'd agree with you, but they're _refugees_ soldier. They have a right to know what's happening."

The officer shrugged nonchalantly, "If you say so sir."

I scowled slightly at his dull tone, but decided to press on. After all, this man had no doubt been guarding the door all through the previous fight. I had no doubt boredom had quickly set in.

"_Torii!__"_

My train of thought was suddenly broken as a soft mechanical voice broke through the general hum of the deck, my emerald eyes suddenly catching sight of a small blur of green as it flew round the corner towards me, followed quickly by a more familiar brown haired girl of sixteen years.

"Torii! Come back!" Miriallia lent up against the bulkhead as she tried to catch her breath, "Come on this isn't…oh!" her eyes widened as they landed on my stunned face, "Erm…would you mind holding out your hand? He might land on it."

"Hm? Oh right!" without even thinking about the odd request, I gently held out a pale hand towards the blur as it approached, my eyes widening in surprise as a small mechanical bird swooped into land on my outstretched fingers, it's head cocking to one side as it seemed to study me with tiny red eyes.

"_Torii?__"_

"Torii?" I repeated blankly as strode over to where Miriallia stood, "It's a robot? I've never seen such a small yet complex machine," I smiled at the brown haired teen before me, "Is he yours?"

"No," she returned the gesture as she pushed off from the wall to meet me halfway, "He belongs to Kira actually, but I think Elle scared him a little or something because he just took off after she tried to hug him to death."

With a tentative hand, she gently held out a finger as a perch towards the green machine, the small bird almost automatically hopping off my hand and onto hers with little to no fuss.

"It seems to be important to Kira. He's always taken good care of it. I think it belonged to a friend of his, back before he came to Heliopolis…" she blinked suddenly, before smothering a giggle with her free hand, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't ramble on. So…what brings you down here?"

"Updating," I let the hand fall down to my side with a smile, "A few things have happened in the past hour. It seems only fair the refugees are kept in the loop…"

* * *

"Well well. Don't they look…chummy…"

Kira frowned down at Tolle as his friend glared crouched with narrowed eyes round the corner to where his girlfriend stood talking to an all too familiar redcoat, before glancing up at the pair once more.

"Looks like an honest conversation if you ask me."

"That's what he _wants_ you to think…there! See? He made her laugh!"

"So what?" Yamato shrugged, "I make Miriallia laugh all the time. Why are you so hung up about this?"

"Because you're my friend! I can trust you!" Koenig smirked, "I know _you_ wouldn't steal her away from me…would you?"

"No!" the answer came without hesitation as his cheeks stained themselves pink.

"Exactly," Tolle nodded with satisfaction, "See, I can trust you, but this guy…he's a total stranger, but he's not only a Coordinator but a ZAFT elite! I can't compete with that!"

"Do you really think I'm that shallow?"

If the situation had been different, Kira would have laughed at the picture of dread that suddenly swept over Tolle's face at his girlfriend's deadly tone.

As it was, the Coordinator could only shift uneasily as he watched his friend slowly rise to his feet, a shaky grin sliding across his face in an attempt to calm down a clearly angry Miriallia Haw, a bewildered Marcus Westfield standing just behind her.

"Miriallia! Hi! I wasn't…we were just…"

"Do you really think I would just up and leave you for Marcus just because his genes are enhanced and he's a top pilot for ZAFT?" the brunette scowled darkly, "Did you think he was going to whisk me away when we reached the PLANTs never to be heard of again? I never figured you to be the jealous type Tolle."

"But…I…" the boy just stared helplessly as his girlfriend side-stepped him, a chill running up Kira's spine at the oddly sweet smile she sent his way as she raised a familiar mechanical bird into his eyesight.

"Marcus managed to catch Torii before he took off out of bounds Kira. He was just on his way down here to update us on what's been going on recently."

"Oh. I see," he smiled carefully, the sudden change of pace from his friend unnerving as he nodded towards the redcoat, "Thank you."

"Not a problem."

"Well, I'm glad that's all sorted." she smiled sweetly again, "Now if you'll excuse me…"

"No, wait a minute…" Tolle stared helplessly as Miriallia pushed past him, her nose in the air, "Mir? Miri? Come on Miriallia! Talk to me!"

* * *

"Do I even want to know?"

Kira glanced at me with a small smirk as Koenig helplessly followed his girlfriend down the corridor.

"He's just worried, that's all," he shrugged, "He loves her, and doesn't want to loose her," he suddenly eyed me suspiciously, "You're not _really_ trying to steal her away are you?"

"Well she is cute…I'm kidding!" I grinned guiltily at the sharp glare he sent my way, "Well…partially. She _is_ cute, beautiful even, but I have more important things to worry about then stealing another guy's girlfriend. Besides, I'm not really the kind of guy that takes taken women. I just…want everyone to get along."

"Is that why you're keeping us locked up down here?"

"Flay…" Kira frowned uneasily as the redhead approached, her eyes narrowed, "Don't bother…"  
"No, it's alright," I tried to smile reassuringly towards the uneasy brunette, "Mr. Yamato…would you mind asking everyone to gather in the common area? I'll be there in a moment. "

"But I…"

"Please?"

He frowned uneasily, clearly not wanting to leave the two of us alone, but after a minute hesitation he nodded slowly, taking another moment to send an uncomfortable glance Flay's way before disappearing down the corridor.

It was only once I was sure he was out of earshot did I turn my attention towards the redheaded thorn in my side.

"This isn't exactly a pleasure cruise Miss Allster. As a civilian of a country un-aligned to ZAFT or the PLANTs you can't expect us to just let you wander the ship…"

"I don't like the trapped feeling I get from being here!" she scowled darkly, "Day in, day out, nothing but bulkheads to stare at. You don't even let us know what's going on! I know I felt the ship change course yesterday, and then there was that alarm…"

"We encountered a distress signal and decided to investigate," I folded my arms stubbornly across my chest, "Whereupon we were attacked by unknown mobile suits of a similar design to the ones we have in the hanger. Happy now?"

"You expect me to believe we were attacked by Earth Alliance mobile suits?" Flay continued to scowl, her fist clenched, "Two days ago you told this ship and _its_ suits were Earth Forces prototypes. I find it hard to believe they'd start mass producing so quickly…"

"I never said they were mass-produced. They looked like more prototypes, like ours."  
"How convenient," I frowned as the stubborn girl smirked, "_More _Earth Alliance prototypes? Are you going after these ones too? Or is this some kind of Coordinator plot to…"

"You know, for someone from a _neutral_ nation," she seemed to glare daggers as I cut her off once again, "One whose Coordinator population is over a third I might add, you sure seem to have a very one sided way of thinking about us. Why do you dislike us? Everyone else seems to be fine with what we're trying do for you people, but you…"

"You Coordinators…you're nothing but scum, the lot of you," my voice died at the sound of hateful venom within her tone, "You're just…not natural. Anyone who has their genes operated on when they're not sick or anything is against what nature intended. You're all so spliced up it's not even funny. Super smart, super strong, better reflexes, all contained in a body that just wasn't made for that kind of thing and you think yourselves above us as a result," her eyes narrowed to slits as I flexed a hand in an attempt to calm myself, "You call yourselves superior, a completely new species. You say your intentions here are benevolent, but I won't believe it. You're something that has to be feared and mistrusted, something that never should have been brought into existence! Something that…Ah!"

Her rant came to a swift end as I backhanded her hard, her surprised form sent sprawling off her feet onto the deck with a satisfying thud.

I scowled down at her darkly with narrowed eyes and bared teeth, my breathing laboured as I forced myself to calm down. The last thing I needed was to prove her right by giving into the thought of pummelling her into the level below.

"You…you hit me," Flay rubbed her quickly reddening cheek as her wide eyes almost fearfully raised to meet mine, "Not even my own Father hit me before!"

A clenched fist on my part caused her to flinch again, but I managed to restrain myself.

"You think I had any choice in the matter? You think _any_ of us did?" I scowled darkly, "I am a First Generation Coordinator Miss Allster, that means I was created by Naturals. You think I had any say in what they did to me? What about Second Generations, Coordinators born of Coordinators, you think they had any say in what they were? Don't get me wrong, I'm _proud_ to be a Coordinator. I think we have great potential to help humanity in ways a normal human being couldn't imagine, but don't forget this Miss Allster: Naturals created me. Naturals created George Glenn. Naturals created _us_. We didn't just appear out of the blue sky one day and declare war for the sake of destruction. Many of us were born because _Naturals_ wanted superior children, and when you decided we might be getting too clever for our own good you decided to throw us out like last week's garbage. _That_ is the basic truth Miss Allster. _That_ is the reason we've been fighting this damn war for almost a year. And if you can't get that simple fact past the lies and propaganda that your father's been spoon feeding you all these years, I feel nothing but sorrow for you."

She didn't say another word. All she could do was watch as I strode away from the scene, stopping only to quickly brief the guard on the door on the information I had come down here to deliver before heading out the door, acutely aware of the dozen or so eyes that followed my every move.

* * *

I kept walking; one purposeful stride after another, no destination in mind. I just had to keep walking until I was far away from Flay Allster as I could get without blowing an airlock.

I was so angry, but not with her. Slapping her was about the worst thing I could do right now. Yes, she provoked me, but to actually lash out like that, to prove to Flay, at least in her eyes, that she was right about Coordinators…at the very least it was good evidence for stirring up trouble within the refugee groups. And that speech…Ugh! What was I thinking, lecturing her like that!?

Elevators and corridors seemed to come up at every turn as my mind churned with thoughts, the gravity leaving my body as I travelled into the zero-g upper sections of the ship. It was only when I finally hit a dead end in the form of the Archangel's rear Observation Deck did I finally stop, a weary sigh escaping my lips as I lent an arm against the thick panes of glass, my head hitting my sleeve with a soft thump moments later.

"Idiot," I chided myself, "You're a ZAFT Red for crying out loud…you should have shown some self restraint…"

"Is there a problem sir?"

An all too familiar voice pulled me from my thoughts from above my head. A voice known across the PLANTs for her songs for peace, now laced with a note of concern I'd never heard from it before.

"Miss Lacus?"

Our pink haired passenger smiled down at me from her anchored spot near the top of the windows, her head cocked to one side as she frowned slightly at my surprised face.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but you seemed angry when you passed by a moment ago…"

I had passed her?  
"Please, forgive me if I ignored you Miss Clyne," I bowed my head embarrassedly as she pushed off down to the floor, "I was…preoccupied," I frowned as she smothered a giggle with her hand, "Incidentally, if you'll pardon my asking, Has Commander Michaels or Le Creuset given you permission to wonder the ship?"

"Hm…" Lacus tapped a single finger against her lips in thought as she pushed off again, this time clear across the room, "Well…I don't seem to remember them saying I _couldn__'__t_ leave my room, so I decided to take a stroll, just a brief walk to stretch my legs," she smiled again, "I haven't really been able to move around much since I was aboard the Silverwind you see. When I saw you pass by at the junction you seemed to be dreadfully upset about something, so I decided to see if I could help you."

I couldn't help but let an eyebrow arch in disbelief. Lacus Clyne, esteemed daughter of our Supreme Chairman, couldn't be this naïve…right?

"But Miss Lacus…this is a military ship. A _stolen_ military ship. You can't just walk around her like a passenger liner. What if there was an emergency and you got caught up in it because we didn't know where you were?"

"Is that right?" the smile disappeared somewhat, "I wouldn't want to get you all into trouble, "But you see…Mr. Pink…"

"Haro!" she smiled fondly as her little round friend chose that moment to drift between us, his ears flapping wildly in the zero gravity, "I won't bother!"

"He enjoys going for walks you see. In fact it doesn't even matter if you lock the door. He always seems to find his way out."

"I see." The thought of this small big eared ball trying to pick the electronic locks of Archangel's doors seemed farfetched in my opinion, like a child blaming her imaginary friend for breaking her mother's favourite vase.

…

This had to be an act…right?

"It appears we will be leaving the Debris Belt within the day right?"

"Hm? Oh!" I blinked in surprise as Lacus pushed off the wall towards me, a hand almost automatically holding itself out to her for her to catch, slowing her down to come to a halt beside me, "I mean yes, I believe so. I'm sure you'll be on your way soon. Is Zala accompanying you?"

"I'm afraid not," she sighed with a smile, "Athrun is dedicated to this mission. I can understand that. From what I've been told, the technology on this ship may prove to be useful in bringing a quicker end to this war. I can understand by he wants to see this through. He's been like that…ever since Junius Seven when his mother died."

"I see," her hand was warm in mine, no pilot suit between us as their had been before to keep skin from touching. After a moment more I released her, "I remember seeing her name on the list of the dead after I returned from battle. I…was updating it with a few of my own."

"You were at Junius Seven?"

"Yes, we were brought in to assist when Command got word of the Roosevelt's approach," my eyes widened in realisation, "Oh, forgive me! I never even gave you my name! I'm Marcus Westfield, Michaels Team, 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit."

"Oh…I see," a mysterious smile crossed the songstress' features as her eyes glinted with recognition, "I had a feeling I had seen your face before. You're the one who destroyed the Roosevelt…"

"Yes, that's me," I chuckled slightly as I turned towards the stars, "The flying Engineer who avenged the lost souls of Junius Seven to the Roosevelt. I've field tested dozen of prototypes, evaluated everything from mobile suit armaments to the Jörmungandr superweapon. Yet the only thing people remember me for is crashing that damn GINN into the Roosevelt's Bridge…"

"Do you regret your actions?"

I blinked at the pink haired girl in surprise, before shaking my head.

"No. What Roosevelt brought upon the PLANTs was…unforgivable," I smiled wryly as I turned back to the stars, "I just wish…I had been in a less…suicidal mindset at the time."

Miss Lacus didn't say anything. She just stared up at me quietly with her light blue orbs, as though studying me.

"But that's all in the past now," I sighed with a smile as I turned back towards her, "Come on, I'll escort you back to your quarters."

* * *

The remaining voyage through the Debris Belt was by far the smoothest part of our journey home thus far. Even Flay Allster remained strangely quiet, although to be fair I had given the Refugee area a wide berth since the incident. Lacus herself had remained begrudgingly in her room once I had returned her there, and there had been no sign of our Alliance attackers or their carrier since Junius Seven.

In fact, the only storm cloud that seemed to spoil an otherwise routine flight came in the from of one disgruntled Nicol Amalfi.

"I can't believe their making me go," the green haired pilot scowled slightly as he watched the Blitz being loaded into the cargo shuttle, "I feel like such a traitor, heading home early in the middle of a mission!"

"It's not like you're just bolting on us," Dearka smirked as he lent lazily against the hanger wall, "In a way, you're actually completing a part of the mission ahead of time. You get to go home _and_ take all the glory. Seems like a win-win if you ask me."

"That's not helping Elsmen," I regarded the blond quietly as I tossed Amalfi's small suitcase towards him, "You should consider yourself lucky though Nicol, considering how close we are to the anniversary,"

An uneasy pause fell over our group, the various noises of the engineers and the small farewell party within the hanger filling the silence that followed.

"Bloody Valentine," Yzak smirked grimly, "Home just in time for the Memorial Service. You lucky git."

"We might still make it you know," I nodded, "I mean we're just under a week away right?"

"Depends how far the Naturals are going to go to shoot us down," Joule scowled, "What do you think Dearka?"

"I think we better look alive," Elsmen pushed off from the wall as his eyes drifted to the entrance, "Pink Princess and escort at twelve o clock!"

At the sound of his warning, eighteen pairs of feet clacked together as their owners snapped to attention, just in time for Lacus Clyne, along with Athrun, Sara and Le Creuset floated through the door.

"…It's unfortunate that we must part so soon after being given this opportunity to see one another," our group followed the greencoat's lead and snapped off a salute as Miss Lacus' voice echoed through the cavernous hanger, "Again, I would like to thank you for all you have done for me during my stay here Commander Michaels."

"I assure you, you were no trouble at all Miss Clyne," Sara smiled gratefully as the four came to a halt beside us, "Having you with us has been an honour and a privilege."

"I'm sure your father and many others are worried for your safety back at the PLANTs," Le Creuset smiled as he and Sara returned our salute, "I assure you both myself and Mr. Amalfi will oversee your safe return."

"I see," Miss Lacus sent a smile Nicol's way, my comrade shakily returning the gesture as his cheeks tinted themselves a slight pink, "And the Archangel…do you believe she and the rest of the fleet will make it back in time for the memorial services?"

The masked Commander frowned, sharing an almost troubled look with Sara as Athrun seemed to momentarily tense up.

"We'll certainty _try_ to make it on time," Michaels tried to smile reassuringly, "But with the Alliance on our tails…I really can't say with any real certainty."

"I see," she seemed saddened at the news, "I know military achievements are important, but you should never forget the victims."

"We won't," Sara smiled, "I promise."

Our Songstress nodded her thanks, before turning back to Le Creuset, "Before I leave however, I _would_ like a word with Mr. Westfield…if it isn't too much of an inconvenience…"

"Not at all," Rau's smile seemed to become an understanding one, "I will go on ahead to insure final preparations are going smoothing, Nicol, if you will follow me…"  
"Actually sir," Athrun hesitantly spoke up as the group moved away, Yzak and Dearka sharing amused glances, "I was wondering if I could talk to Nicol before he left. I…have a favour I need to ask him…"

Their voices were quickly lost in the bustle of the hanger bay as they headed towards the shuttle, leaving me alone with Lacus Clyne in the Hanger's doorway.

Alone…with Lacus Clyne.

I had no doubt that many fans would kill to fill my knee length boots right about now.

"I don't believe I ever had the chance to thank you properly for rescuing me Mr. Westfield," I turned back to face her with surprise as she smiled good naturedly, "I should have said something earlier, but I couldn't find a time that felt right to say it."

I can only imagine the look of bemusement that currently crossed my features as I looked down at her.

"It's…it's not that big a deal Miss Lacus," I quickly returned her gesture, "I'm just glad I was able to help you…"

"Nevertheless, I am grateful you saved me. Both Athrun and Commander Le Creuset told me if you hadn't looked over at the right moment I might never have been found. That is reason enough to give you thanks is it not?"

I smiled gently with a nod, "Well…yes…When you put it like that."

"I believe we must be thankful for the little miracles that occur during war," the pink haired girl turned her azure gaze out across the hanger, "So many lives have been lost, and so many more have become shattered and broken as a result," she turned to face me, her features solemn, "From that perspective, a single death can create more victims from those that remain alive wouldn't you agree?"

I frowned at the peculiar statement, but chose not to directly reply.

"Lacus?" we looked up as one as Athrun called to his fiancée from across the hanger, "It's time to go."

"One more moment please," she smiled apologetically, "I promise we won't be much longer…"

"It's alright," I cut her off quietly, "You've already said what you wanted to say, and I wouldn't want to keep you from your flight."

She smiled again, her head cocked to one side as though studying me for a final time.

Then, with one swift motion, she lightly grasped my hands, pushing herself up towards my face…to kiss me quietly on the cheek.

It was quick, chaste, and performed in front of all who stood and worked within the Hanger, yet she retained a certain childlike innocence about the whole thing as she pulled back, apparently completely unaware of the stunned, aghast (in Sara and Yzak's case,) and even jealous looks that were being sent our way.

"Goodbye Mr. Westfield," she squeezed my hands comfortingly, before pushing off towards a fairly nonchalant looking Athrun, "I look forward to a day where the two of us might meet again."

I didn't reply. I just nodded faintly as I watched her leave, one hand subconsciously moving to my cheek as a slightly absent minded smile graced my lips.

* * *

"Well, there she goes," Dearka smirked as he, Yzak, Athrun and I all watched the shuttle depart across the stars from a nearby observation port, "Lacus Clyne, our lady of the PLANTs, off to kiss other men while her boyfriend's not looking…or indeed _while_ he's looking…"

"Knock it off Elsmen," Yzak sniggered as I did my best to sound commanding, all the while aware of Athrun's presence beside me, "Miss Lacus was just thanking me that's all. Nothing more, nothing less."

"He's right," I breathed a sigh of relief as Athrun spoke up, his voice calm with a hint of amusement, "It's just how Lacus is; sometimes she just thinks the best way to thank someone quickly is with a kiss…"

"Well, Westfield sure looked thankful," Dearka burst out laughing at Yzak's snide comment, "I didn't think it was physically possible to go so red…"

I scowled darkly but didn't reply, preferring instead to rub the bridge of my nose as I felt a migraine developing behind my eyes; a strange pressure almost as though someone was pushing directly against my brain…

Then, the ship rocked…violently.

"_ALL HANDS TO YOUR STATIONS!!!__"_ Sara's panicked voice was barely heard as another volley smashed into Archangel's side, _"__PILOTS TO YOUR MOBILE SUITS ASAP!!!__"_

* * *

Payback.

That was at the forefront of Shani's mind as the Forbidden's cannons blasted green energy against the Archangel's hull, the Raider and Calamity emerging from the Debris Belt to begin their attack runs, three squadrons of Moebius units backing them up.

The pain he had felt, the humiliation that had combined with the withdrawal symptoms to intensify his anguish, he pushed it all into his attack, his mobile suit ducking and weaving through missiles and beam fire as the warship returned fire.

He would sink it, he would put all his rage and hatred into every blast that erupted from Forbidden's cannons until Archangel was nothing more then spinning debris and space dust.

He would make sure of it.

* * *

"The Archangel's under attack?!"

"So it would appear," Le Creuset frowned as Nicol stood up in alarm, Lacus beside him uneasily watching on, "We lost contact with the fleet a few moments ago, a clear sign of an attack. It appears the Alliance Forces caught up to us far faster then we anticipated."

"We have to go back," the redcoat made a move towards the shuttle's rear, "If we turn around now…"

"Then we run the risk of blotching this entire operation," the masked man set a restraining hand on Amalfi's shoulder, "We must use this golden opportunity to make our escape."

"Are you saying we use them as decoys?!" the green-haired pilot glared at his superior, "Just leave them to die like…"

"It is not a battle that is out of their favour Nicol," Rau's calm smile seemed to infuriate the pilot even more, "Archangel has three other ships to back it up, and her pilots are more then capable of holding their own against the Earth Forces, even those equipped with mobile suits. One more machine will not turn the tide of the battle, and in your haste, there is a chance you would place Miss Lacus in danger again."

Nicol's shoulders slumped as his Commander became silent. In his urge to aid his friends, he'd almost forgotten the pink haired princess was on the shuttle with them. If she had gotten hurt…Athrun would never forgive him.

So he slumped back into his chair and cradled his head in his hands as Le Creuset ordered to the shuttle's pilot to increase their speed, his mind wishing for all its might that he had remained on board.


	7. The Stolen Swords of ZAFT

**PHASE 06**

**THE STOLEN SWORDS OF ZAFT**

"_I can't see the rest of the fleet!"_

"_Did the shuttle get away!"  
"I think so…damn Naturals are jamming our radar!"_

"_Westfield can you see the Valiant or Vesalius? Westfield? Marcus? MARCUS!"_

"Marcus?"

I awoke with a start as someone shook me gently by the shoulder, sitting bolt upright and almost colliding with the person's shoulder in the process.

Another nightmare. I'd lost count of how many I'd had within the past three days. My whole body was shaking madly as sweat beaded down my face.

"You alright?"

I looked up as Sara stood up to her full height over my bed, her features hidden in the semi-darkness of my personal quarters.

"I…Yes Ma'am," Had I not been only clad in a shirt and underwear, I might have jumped out of bed and stood to attention. As it was, I merely nodded, "Just a bad dream that's all," I frowned slightly, "Why are you here?"

"You're almost late for our meeting," My Commander scowled slightly, "You're just lucky I am too. I was passing by and thought I'd check if you were oversleeping…again."

"Hey!"

"…but then I saw you…dreaming…"

"I see," my mild irration disappeared as quickly as it had arrived as I clutched the thin sheets a little closer, acutely aware of exactly how undressed I actually was, "Thank you for waking me Ma'am. If you don't mind, I sort of need to get dressed."

"Yes…of course," the redhead frowned as she averted her eyes as I rose from the mattress and headed for the closet, "I didn't think you to be the type of person to have nightmares about this sort of thing Westfield. The Battle at L4, Junius Seven, what we experienced a few days back seems almost…trivial by comparison."

"I'm only human Commander," I glanced back with an eyebrow arched as Sara seemed more content to stand with her back to me then to actually leave me to get dressed, "Just because I pilot a Gundam doesn't mean I can't have nightmares…"

"_They're coming round for another attack!"_

"_They're targeting the Gamow! They're trying to sink us one by one!"_

"…I'm an engineer," I pulled a fresh pair of trousers from the rack, a part of my mind reminding me to take a shower once the meeting was adjourned, "I'm supposed to evaluate technology, not put it through its paces in actual combat scenarios. I hate war, I hate everything about it…"

"_THE GAMOW IS SUNK! THEY'RE CUTTING US OFF!"_

"_Remain calm! All Gundam pilots keep close to the Archangel, we'll try and loose them in the Belt!"_

"And yet you're still a damned good pilot Westfield," I paused at a quiet chuckle as I pulled my boots on, "Just as good as any of the other men assigned to the Gundams. You're a lousy evaluator though. Half the time our prototypes come back broken or destroyed."

"But that's the curse of the Valiant right?" I smirked darkly as I pulled my tunic over my shoulder, "Can't bring anything or anyone onto our home temporarily without it getting damaged…or killed."

"Ugh, that stupid curse nonsense," Sara flicked a strand of hair out of her face as I came up behind her, "Honestly Westfield you can't tell me that…"

Then she turned…and almost crashed into me.

For a moment silence reigned between us, azure looking up to meet with emerald in the dim light, her form visibly shrinking back as memories flashed across our minds.

Memories of Junius Seven, of arms tangled in tight embrace as her cries for her beloved Ellion echoed through the Valiant's hanger.

After a moment or eternity more, Sara turned away.

"Come on," she headed for the door, "we've got to get moving if we're going to make it on time."

* * *

"As you all know, since we were cut off from the fleet three days ago we've currently been playing a game of hide and seek with the Agamemnon class carrier and its three Gundam type mobile suits," Sarah slumped into the command chair as I joined the Archangel's remaining pilots on the Bridge's lower tier. "Thanks to a whole lot of luck on our part, we've managed to keep one step ahead of them by hiding in the Debris Belt, but it's been three days people. Our supplies are running low and we can only go round in circles so many times. We need options."

"Well how about the obvious?" Yzak folded his hands across his chest impatiently. "We set course for the PLANTs and let nothing stand in our way."

"Our current position is two thirds of the way through the Debris Belt," Mira Sanchez frowned at her display as she brought up a map of the local area, "Even at full speed, we would not reach the PLANTs for another week at most. The fact of the matter is we don't have enough supplies to last us the trip."

"Besides, I find it unlikely this Agamemnon is out by itself," Sara ran a hand through her hair in thought. "If I was in charge of this cat and mouse hunt, I'd have patrols strengthened between the Belt and the PLANTs if they wanted to make sure we didn't get the Archangel home. What are our closest options?"

"Currently we are two days sail from Earth herself," A series of lines appeared across the map at Mira's command as Yzak pouted in irritation at having his idea shot down. "According to the schematics provided by Canestro, Archangel is equipped to drop into the atmosphere. It wouldn't be hard to land within a ZAFT-aligned nation and find safety there. The only other local installations are either too far away or controlled by the Earth Alliance, like the Artemis Asteroid Base,"

"If we storm Artemis, then we could re-supply the ship and take out an Alliance installation at the same time," Dearka let the suggestion hang in the air, "I mean we still have Earth Forces Identification codes in the database right? And I bet those Naturals we have down in the Brig could be _influenced _to…"

"We're in no shape to mount another assault on an installation," Canestro scowled darkly, "Maybe if we still had the manpower of the other ships but not on our own. Sure we might be able to take the space dock with the Gundams, but the facility itself would be near impossible with the amount of people we have."

"Besides, we still have those civilians on board," Athrun spoke up, "Up until now we haven't put them in danger intentionally. If we actually go into combat against the Alliance without provocation, it might give several dissidents among the refugees some leverage with the others."

"Is Earth really our only option then?" Sara steeped her fingers before her as she cast her eyes across the map. "It just seems…too obvious. They're bound to have fleets waiting for us in orbit."

Yzak folded his arms, "It's a big planet. They can't have fleets stationed everywhere."

"But they don't need to patrol the entire planet, just the orbital paths over ZAFT controlled territory. We could always try getting down over an Alliance nation I guess, but to get back to ZAFT…"

"What about Orb?"

"Orb?" the whitecoat looked up at me in bewilderment, "What _about_ Orb?"

"Well…we have Orb citizens on board right?" I pushed off towards Mira's station, changing the map to that of Earth's orbit, "Earth Alliance might be the most influence power in orbit, but Orb does keep a few ships up here to above their territory," several dots appeared over the map, white for Alliance fleets, blue for Orb, and red for ZAFT…had there been any, "It's supposed to be a deterrent to insure their homeland isn't invaded via drop pods from space. If we can get into Earth Orbit over Orb, we can broadcast our intentions and maybe seek asylum within the country."

"And what exactly would our intentions be that they would let a ZAFT ship in so willingly?"

"Simple," I smiled faintly as I turned to my unconvinced Commander, "We tell them on an open channel we're carrying refugees from Heliopolis, and we want to return them home."

"But they helped _build_ the Archangel," Athrun frowned, "If we land in Orb…what's to stop them from freeing the prisoners we have in the Brig and taking the ship and the Gundams back from us?"

"We still have the data we collected at Heliopolis. If worst comes to worst we show them the footage of the Nelsons crashing into their colony," I frowned at the sceptical faces before me, "Look, I know this plan is hardly foolproof, but it'll be a whole lot easier getting Earth-side through Orb then it will be trying to break through the Earth Forces Fleet we all know will be waiting over ZAFT territories or plotting some suicide course over an Alliance nation. Anyway, the Orb Union is known to put its people before everything else. That's why they cling to their neutrality, why they won't attack another nation unless they are attacked first. Besides, we've put these people through enough as it is," I folded my arms stubbornly across my chest, "Seeing as our current orders are effectively out the window, I think we owe it to these people to get them safely home."

* * *

"…As you have seen from the events you have just witnessed, while the actions that led to Heliopolis' collapse were catalysed by our own forces, events that led to the colony's destruction were instigated by the Earth fleet as a form of Scorched Earth policy. Had the Alliance forces focused solely on our own warships, it is more then likely Heliopolis would have retained its structural integrity with the damage it had sustained and would still be operational today. Thank you for your kind attention, this concludes my report."

Nicol frowned as the click of Commander Le Creuset's boots coming together was lost to the sound of bickering committee members as the Supreme Council argued back and forth over the information they had just seen.

His mind however, was not in the Council chambers, rather it was digesting information he himself had only just come into contact with.

Their fleet had been divided. The Gamow had been lost with all hands, and the Archangel had been separated from the Vesalius and the Valiant. With their GINNs no match for the overwhelming force of the Alliance's remaining Gundam type machines, the two vessels had been forced to withdraw, and would return to the PLANTs by the end of the day.

Three days…he could only hope that somehow, Archangel and all those aboard were alright.

"Tell me Commander Le Creuset," a new voice rose above the arguing, causing the green-haired pilot to look up form his thoughts, "The prototype mobile suits and carrier of the Earth Forces. Are they worth all the sacrifices that were made by our ZAFT Forces in order to secure them?"

Amalfi couldn't help but stare at the voice's owner. Patrick Zala, Athrun's own father, was a man he knew from reputation only. Easily the most outspoken committee member of the council, his powerful stance and commanding voice was considered one of the many reasons he was so popular in the polls for the seat of Supreme High Chairman for the elections later in the year.

To see this man on a television was one thing, to be in his presence was another in its entirety.

"To illustrate to you their phenomenal capabilities, I have here one of our pilots." Le Creuset indicated to his companion, "He operated the machine we brought back with us from the Archangel, and has fought the three remaining suits personally. I would like permission to have Nicol Amalfi brief you on the details."

The redcoat shifted uneasily as several committee members gave each other uneasy looks, but refused to meet his own father's eyes as he sent a troubled look his son's way.

After a moment's silence Siegel Clyne's voice echoed across the Council Halls.

"I will allow Nicol Amalfi to present his report."

For a moment, fear clenched at the young pilot's heart, the urge to be sick almost overpowering as he approached the glass table that separated him from the dozen men and women that sat round the table before him.

Nicol cleared his dry throat, paused a moment more, then began as the displays lit up with data.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the PLANT Supreme Council. I have been called upon to deliver this report on the captured mobile weapons and their space carrier on behalf of my comrades who have since been separated from the homeland by the Earth Alliance OMNI Forces. In order to distinguish between these machines and our own combat units, we have designated these new mobile suits as Gundams, derived from the acronym spelt out by the machine's Operational System: General Unilateral Neuro - link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver. As of current we have counted a total of eight of these machines, five of which are in our procession.

"To begin with, I present you with GAT-X102, codenamed the Duel. This machine was developed with close combat in mind and has a wide range of uses. It's believed to be the basis for the development of the other seven models. Like the others it is equipped with the anti-air Vulcan system, Igelstellungs. The machine carries a beam saber and a anti-beam shield. In addition this machine incorporates a feature known as phase shift armour, as does all of it's known brethren, which we have yet to test in actual combat. Prior to separation we were reprogramming its OS to maximise its potential, and judging from the specs, this machine we believe is both superior in mobility and power to ZAFT's main weapon; the GINN.

"GAT-X103 is the Buster. This machine was designed to be capable of launching long range artillery attacks. It is believed its main purpose was to provide covering fire from the rear, and to perform sniper attacks. It is not equipped with a shield, however it has a 350-millimetre gun launcher and a high energy focus beam rifle. By attaching these weapons in different combinations, one can form a hyper impulse long range sniper rifle, or an anti armour shotgun. Due to it's unique weaponry, it is one of two machines not equipped with a beam rifle.

"Next: GAT-X105, the Strike. Of the Gundams we have in our procession, we believe this one has the most offensive potential due to its ability to be wielded in various types of combat. This model's design allows it to switch its equipment using models identified as Striker Packs, designated Launcher, Sword and Aile. Aile is this machine's primary general use module, comprised of a larger thruster assembly for increased mobility as well as an extra pair of melee beam sabers stored at shoulder height for close combat purposes.

"Sword has been seen to be the least useful of the packs by its pilot Marcus Westfield due to its sole focus on close combat, incorporating a fifteen metre long anti-ship blade and beam boomerang, thus forcing it to rely on other machines to provide it with covering fire while it gets within range to attack.

"Launcher is by far the most powerful of the Striker Packs, incorporating a three hundred and twenty millimetre hyper-impulse cannon which has been observed to take down a Nelson in a single shot, in addition to a hundred and twenty millimetre anti-ship Vulcan cannon mounted on the shoulder as well as a three hundred and fifty-millimetre gun launcher.

"In addition the machine is the only known model to carry two knives in its hip section. As said before this model has the highest combat potential, but may have to have specially constructed carriers if it were to be mass-produced, such as the Archangel.

"Model number GAT-X207 is known as the Blitz, and is the only one equipped with the feature known as called Mirage Colloid, a revolutionary system in which gas particles are released over the armour's surface. In the eyes of the enemy, this machine becomes virtually invisible. This makes it affective for search and destroy missions, however one of the drawbacks is the Phase Shift armour cannot be used while the system is activated. It's believed this model was developed for Blitzkrieg warfare. It is also equipped with its own weapons; Trikeros and Gleipnir.

"Finally, GAT-X303. Codenamed the Aegis. One major characteristic is its transformation system. Its unique structural frame is fundamentally different to the other seven machines, and allows this particular model to transform into a mobile armour. While in this configuration its primary weapon is the Scylla, a 580-millimeter multi-phase energy cannon, it is also equipped with beam sabers mounted on the arms and legs as well as a beam rifle that is present for all models save for the Buster and the Blitz.

"Now for the carrier. Registration number LCAM-01XA, designation: Archangel. This four hundred and twenty metre long vessel is easily the largest vessel to be constructed by the Earth Forces, and is an extremely powerful warship and carrier capable of holding its own far better then its closest relative, the Agamemnon. Equipped with the twin barrelled beam cannons Gottfried and rail cannon Valiants, what makes this carrier so destructive are the positron blaster cannons mounted beneath the catapults named the Lohengrin. It was this weapon that blasted a hole through the side of Heliopolis and created the catalyst for the colony's destruction. Archangel is also the only vessel capable of effectively launching the Strike due to the specialised equipment allowing it to mount the Striker Packs to the mobile suit. Had we gone through with our initial plan and destroyed the carrier while taking the mobile suits, we believe the Strike would have become for less useful to us as a result.

"Regarding the three enemy Gundam suits we have encountered, our data has been scarce due to the hit and run attacks they seem to employ. What is clear however that these machines were not built at Heliopolis, neither do they appear in Archangel's Combat Database. It is our belief however that these unknown units may be second generation prototypes for the initial five models. While their weapons appear to be more advanced then anything on our captured machines, what is of a greater concern is the amount of control their pilots have over their suits. It is therefore unlikely that ordinary Naturals are at the controls, and more likely that we are going up against other Coordinators affiliated to the Alliance forces.

"This concludes my report, thank you for your attention."

"They've manufactured these abominations?" A committee member spoke up almost immediately as Nicol returned to his seat and the displays returned to the flag of ZAFT, "Those disgusting Naturals…"

"But they're only in the trial stage correct? We can hardly consider eight mobile suits a threat…"

"But if they've come this far, they're next step would be to mass produce, and with three machines still in Earth's procession there's no stopping them from finalising a working model that could rival the GINN. Are you suggesting we just sit back and wait until that happens?"

"This is a perfect indication of what the Naturals are planning for the future. They crave war, a desire to wreck havoc…"

"Silence now," Clyne's voice rose above the babble, his tone more tired then commanding, "Committee Members silence please."

"There is no one, who _prefers _to fight," the sound Patrick Zala's voice caused the noise of the council to end abruptly as he came to his feet, "Who among us earnestly wishes to face the battlefield? We prefer to live peacefully, gracefully and happily. That has been and will always be our only desire. But who came upon us and so ruthlessly _shattered _that desire?" he leaned in ominously, his eyes narrowed, "Who took our freedom away for their own selfish ambitions? Who pushes us aside to better themselves?" he rose to his full height, his fists clenched, "Who exploits the Coordinators! Who will never let us forget…the Bloody Valentine Tragedy? The nightmarish destruction of Junius Seven? Two hundred and forty-three thousand, seven hundred and twenty-one people. It has been one year since that loathsome incident which stole from us so many of our fellow citizens, yet we've pondered endlessly to find a quick solution to end this war. Our demands have been minor, however the Naturals have put our efforts to waste time and time again. We fight because it is the only way we can protect ourselves. If we may fight so we may protect, then we have no _choice_ but to fight!"

Silence reigned as Patrick Zala returned to his seat, several Council Members nodding with agreement while others shared troubled looks.

Nicol meanwhile sat troubled in his seat, his hands clenched in his lap as his father nodded in agreement with Patrick Zala's words.

* * *

"National Defence Chairman Zala seems to have a lot of support within the Council, wouldn't you say?"

Nicol glanced at his masked Commander in the passenger seat, before returning to the road ahead, his hands clenching slightly around the car's steering wheel.

"If you're asking my opinion of him, then yes I would agree," the redcoat rolled his shoulders slightly, as though he had developed a slight ache in them, "He is right of course; we haven't asked much of the Earth Forces to call for a cease fire since the war began, but those that control the Alliance…it's like they want to exterminate Coordinators…"

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," the green-haired pilot glanced at Le Creuset as the blond smiled gently, "Blue Cosmos, the anti-Coordinator entity that unofficially controls the Alliance council. That is their mantra, if the rumours are true."

"It seems to fit what the Alliance are trying to achieve," Nicol sighed as he stole a look at passing screens on the buildings ahead, the latest music video of their own Lacus Clyne playing clear across the PLANT, "I'm not saying Chairman Zala is wrong; if you're attacked, sometimes the only thing you _can_ do is fight back, but still…this war's been going on for so long, and the only way peace can be obtained with constant battles is until one side is completely eradicated."

"Then what would you do Nicol, if you had the choice?" Rau regarded the pilot quietly from behind his mask, "Just put down you weapons and refuse to fight?"

"No. I will fight for as long as I need too," the redcoat smiled slightly, "Right now, all I can do is wait, and hope that somewhere amongst those that control the Alliance, there's a strong enough voice who is tired of war and willing to listen to our terms."

"I see," Le Creuset frowned, but didn't seem to want to press the matter as he changed the subject, "Well, with the Archangel missing in action, Vesalius has been ordered to fully evaluate the Blitz before the machine is taken apart. I can have another pilot assigned to it, if you would prefer to be assigned to the Valiant. I hear Captain Tandar has been assigned to the search…"

"I'll…have a think about it," Nicol frowned, "Neither ship heads out before the end of the week anyway right? Besides…there's something I have to do first."

* * *

"I hope these are alright Mrs. Zala. Athrun said they were your favourite."

The grave didn't reply, neither did Nicol expect it to as he laid the large bouquet of fresh flowers against the simple stone memorial for Lenore Zala.

"I'm sorry Athrun couldn't be here," Amalfi smiled weakly, "He's on a mission…actually…he's M.I.A. Don't worry though, I'm sure he's just fine. I mean _you__'__re_ watching out for him right?" he laughed nervously as he cast his light brown orbs across the row of memorial stones along which he stood, "I'm sure he likes to hope so. It's nice to think that those we've lost might still be looking out for us…"

"Do you always talk to gravestones, or is today just a bad day?"

The green-haired pilot blinked in surprise as a new voice broke the silence that had enshrouded him, a slight frown crossing his youthful features as he turned to regard the stranger that stood several rows along.

Dressed in simple civilian clothes with a pair of small bouquets of colourful flowers cradled against her chest, the young woman couldn't have been much older then he was, yet she held herself with a certain confidence that made her appear to be more experienced with life. Pale skinned with eyes of sky blue, her long dark brown hair fell to the middle of her back and was tied at the end with a barely noticeable ribbon of red at the end to keep it out of the way, a wall of russet bangs cut to fall just above her eyes, parted slightly down the middle to leave a upside down V across her forehead.

"Do you always interrupt a person in mourning?"

"Not always," the girl continued to smile as she made her way across the rows to where he stood, "But you look kinda awkward, which makes me think you don't do this thing very often," she glanced at the name on the stone, "And unless you're time in space has changed your hair colour or magically de-aged by about thirty years, your not Athrun or Patrick Zala. Which only reinforces the notion."

"Maybe I was just a close friend who wanted to bring flowers to her grave."

"Maybe, but we both know that's not true."

Nicol held the stranger's gaze for a moment more, before letting his shoulders slump.

"You got me," he smiled slightly, "The truth is, Athrun's out on a mission right now and…well he wasn't sure when he'd be getting back. So he asked me to place some flowers on his mother's grave for him," he turned to gaze at the simple stone memorial, "He'll come here eventually of course, but with Bloody Valentine coming up…"

"He wanted to send some flowers for the anniversary," he looked up at his companion in surprise.

"Y…yes."

"Hm. So," she cocked her head to one side, as though studying her companion, "Friend of Athrun Zala, green hair, and a redcoat…I'd say your Nicol Amalfi of the Le Creuset Team."

Nicol felt his jaw drop, his eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"How did you…?"

"Marcus mentioned you in his last letter," the girl grinned as she closed his mouth with a single finger, "Said you were the only guy who actually treated the 603rd's inclusion in the mission with any real enthusiasm."

"His letter? Then that means…" Amalfi frowned as the stranger walked away from him, "Are you…Marcus Westfield's girlfriend?"

"Is that what Commander Michaels called me?" he flinched slightly at the acid tone that entered the girl's voice, "That woman…No, I'm not Marcus' girlfriend. I am Shiho Hahnenfuss," she smirked over her shoulder, "I'm a friend…and his Ex-Fiancée."

For a moment she stopped, her blue eyes watching him, as though expecting him to follow.

After a moments hesitation, he quickly jogged to catch up with her.

"I didn't realise Marcus had even been engaged," Nicol glanced at his companion as they walked slowly amid the graves, "When I gave him the letter the Valiant had sent, I just thought it was a concerned friend or something. I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me a bit about him?"

"Wouldn't you rather hear his story from him?"

"Ah…well…"

She laughed quietly as he felt his cheeks turn red.

"I'm joking. It's alright, I'll talk. I know he won't mind," Shiho smiled fondly as she held the bouquets a little closer, "I've known Marcus since he was thirteen. He moved to the PLANTs to be with his Uncle, my next door neighbour. Back then he was the quiet sort; rarely spoke, and usually kept to himself. You couldn't blame him though, not after what happened with his parents."

"His parents?"

"Naturals. Not really the bad sort," She winced slightly, "Marcus' grandparents were strong supporters of George Glenn, and his belief that Coordinators were meant to aid regular Naturals evolve and make the transition into space. As such, they had two children, a Coordinator named Robert, and a Natural named Alistair. Alistair is Marcus' father. The idea was that they would teach these two children the advantages and disadvantages of both Coordinators and Naturals, and how one was supposed to benefit the other. And it worked…to a certain extent…" she trailed off uncomfortably.

"If you don't want to talk about it…" Nicol eyed her uncertainty.

"No, it's alright," she smiled again, "Marcus doesn't really talk about his past much, but he doesn't mind when I talk about it with his other friends. If anything it makes it easier on him, because sometimes he has a hard time explaining it all. Like I said, his Grandparents' plan worked well up to a certain point. Robert and Alistair both grew up respecting each other's abilities. Alistair would even marry a similar minded Natural so he could pass on these teachings to his own children.

But when tensions began to rise to near violent levels between Naturals and Coordinators, just after Marcus' birth, things went badly wrong. Marcus is one of the last First Generation Coordinators to be born within the Atlantic Federation, of which Alistair and his wife were strong supporters. They were comfortable with the style of living within the Federation's territory, even though anti-Coordinator sentiments were at an all time high. This led to a rift between the brothers, especially when Robert wanted to take Marcus to the PLANTs due to his Coordinator status. Marcus stayed however until his twelfth birthday, whereupon he also got into a big argument with his parents. He believed if his relations trusted in George Glenn's beliefs on the purpose of Coordinators, they would have moved to one of the neutral nations where Coordinators and Naturals live together as equals, such as the Kingdom of Scandinavia or the Orb Union. His parents however believed that the current tension would eventually subside, and that moving away from the comfort they enjoyed in England was unnecessary. This rift, coupled with the racial stigma Marcus had suffered since the tensions began to rise, resulted in his decision to move to the PLANTs a year later, where his parents wouldn't be able to reach him. He never saw them again, and the only communication between them since was an angry letter from Marcus following the events of Junius Seven."

"I never realised," Nicol frowned as he turned his gaze to the row upon row of memorial stones that stretched out before them, choosing his words carefully, "What happened then, if you don't mind my asking? How did you two end up being engaged?"

Shiho laughed, "It was my father's doing really. He arranged it with Robert Westfield for more my own benefit then Marcus," she paused for a moment, "I….my parents are both Second Generation Coordinators. Which makes me a Third Generation, one of the first. I'm one of many who are born sterile, and more then likely I'll never have children of my own. That makes me less…appealing."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she scowled, "I don't need sympathy. These things happen, and no one could have predicted the sterility from happening so quickly. So don't be sorry."

Nicol winced, "S…sorry."

"Forget it. Marcus himself knew very few people outside of his local neighbourhood at the time, and his own Uncle felt that an arranged marriage would be good for him, and with no children to contend with he felt his nephew wouldn't fall prey to the fear of becoming like his father."

"You don't sound convinced."

"Don't get me wrong. I love Marcus, but I'm not _in_ love with him," Shiho cast a far-off gaze across the graveyard, "He's one of my best friends, but I couldn't really see myself spending the rest of my life with him in that way. Marcus understood what I meant, but suggested we keep the engagement on for now, if anything to keep our relations happy, but if I still didn't wanted to go through with it, he wouldn't force me too. I agreed, and he went off to join ZAFT in the summer of Sixty-Eight while I finished my own education," a frown returned to the girl's features as she came to a halt before a pair of memorial stones, "But then…everything changed in the February of 70 CE, when the Earth Forces attacked Junius Seven."

It only took a quickly glance at the names on the grave stones before them for Nicol to quickly grasp what she meant.

ROBERT WESTFIELD

ELLION MICHAELS

"My family was away visiting my Aunt on Januarius Three," Shiho sighed as she knelt before the graves and carefully laid her flowers against the carved rocks , "As such I didn't loose any family members at Bloody Valentine. I lost many friends though…and Marcus lost his Uncle. Ellion Michaels is Sara Michaels' younger brother…he was fifteen years of age, and hadn't even fully completed his training at the Academy. Marcus asked that I put flowers on his grave for his commander. She rarely comes out here, probably to try and forget what the Curse of the Valiant did to her family."  
"The Curse of the Valiant?"

She smirked grimly, "Ever since the Laurasia Class Carrier Valiant was assigned to the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit, almost every temporary pilot assigned to her to evaluate new technologies has been killed during their time with them. Ellion was assigned to the Valiant in an obsolete Proto-GINN. It was the desperate measures taken by ZAFT to try and get as many units as possible out to defend the PLANTs. His death was as hard on Marcus as it was on Commander Michaels. From what I heard afterwards, he went completely berserk moments after the Proto-GINN was destroyed, and refused to be recalled until the Roosevelt was spinning debris. Junius Seven changed Marcus. I'd never seen him so angry before. I can't even repeat half the stuff he screamed into his letter to his parents. He cursed Naturals, he cursed Coordinators, he even cursed _them _for making them what he was. And when he was hoarse and tired from all his screaming and shouting, all he could do was break down and cry. He never heard from his remaining family again after that. I heard from my father that his parents were killed in the riots that followed the April Fools' Day Crisis," Shiho slowly rose to her feet, casting her gaze across the graves, "I…comforted him as best I could. I was even willing to go through with the marriage if Marcus still wanted it. But he didn't. in fact, he was terrified of getting close to anyone. He didn't want to risk feeling the pain he had felt at the loss of his Uncle and comrade again. My Father agreed to break off the engagement and agreed to take the blame for its abolishment. We stayed friends though, and still write to one another, just as we did before this mess began…"

"He's really lucky then," she glanced at Nichol as he smiled, "To have a friend like you."

"I like to think so," she returned the gesture, before turning her eyes to the artificial sky, "I just hope he comes back soon."

"So you know then?"

"That he's M.I.A.? Of course," Shiho smirked as her companion followed her gaze, "But Marcus Westfield has never broken a promise to me yet. So when he says he's coming to visit as soon as he can, I know he'll deliver."

* * *

"…And so, with no other orders to follow, it is the decision of the crew of the Archangel that we make the safety of all refugees aboard our top priority," I smiled at the two dozen or so faces that had gathered before me in the common area that had been set aside for our civilian passengers, "In two days we will breach the Debris Belt, and will then make best speed for Orb controlled orbit. It is our hope following this that we will be granted permission to land, and you will be reunited with friends and family shortly afterwards. All we currently ask from you right now is your continued cooperation and patience. We will update you with any relevant information as the need arises. Thank for your time and kind attention."

A flurry of chatter and murmurings stirred within the crowd as I stepped off the chair to the deck, many filing out towards their various little corners of the room as I breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Public speaking was definitely not one of my strong points, especially due to the fear I felt of the possible rumours that a certain Miss Allster might have spread about me.

"Marcus!"

The sound of my name as I made for the exit brought me to a halt as I turned round to regard the voices owner, my eyebrows hiking up in surprise as I watched Miriallia Haw quickly approach, bringing a slightly reluctant looking Flay Allster behind her.

"Miss Haw," I smiled with a courteous nod, before turning a slightly grim look on her companion, "Miss Allster."

Flay looked away uncomfortably, clearly wanting to be as far away from me as possible. Miriallia merely elbowed her sharply in response.

"Say it."

The redhead winced uneasily at her friend, before turning her sulky eyes on me.

"Mr. Westfield. I want…" she squirmed, before taking a deep cleansing breath, "I wanted to apologise for what I said to you earlier."

"Specifically?"

Allster bit her lip at her friend's prompt.

"Specifically…for calling you a liar, and the slanderous remarks I made about Coordinators in general…but I don't think I warranted getting slapped for my beliefs!" the last remark came out rushed, "But _that _said…I'm clearly part of a small minority, at least aboard the ship. As such I should have kept my thoughts on this matter to myself," she looked away, only for Miriallia to nudge her again. With another sigh she held out a stiff hand, "I hope you will accept this apology and we can go back to…being on civil terms."

I fought back the urge to laugh at the forced stern look that was currently etched into Allster's face. The formality of her speech was enough to allow a small private smirk to appear.

Regardless, an apology was an apology (Even if it was slightly offensive in some points) and with a careful smile, I gently took the outstretched hand and shook it firmly.

"I accept your apology Miss Allster. For what it's worth, I _am_ sorry I backhanded you. While I think your beliefs are…misguided…I shouldn't have attacked you, and I hope you will forgive me for it."

Flay winced again, and couldn't return my gaze. But she nodded all the same, gave my hand another shake, and left without another word to join Sai at the bunks down the hall.

"Tell me Miss Haw," I glanced at Miriallia as I folded my arms across my chest, "Is she _really_ sorry for what she said, or was she just persuaded to say those things?"

"A little of both," the brown haired girl smiled slyly, "Flay understands what the crew of the Archangel have done for us so far. She knows she'd be dead if you hadn't picked up her life pod. But when your father is the Vice-Minister of the Atlantic Federation, and your spoon-fed their anti-Coordinator propaganda on a daily basis, it's hard to break the habits of a lifetime. She just needed…a little push that's all," the smile faded slightly, "And I also wanted to apologise…for Tolle."

"Mr. Koenig? What about him?"

"His attitude…I'm sorry if he offended you with his accusations," she scowled slightly as she turned away, "He's such an idiot sometimes, I've never seen him so possessive before…"

"Well, you _are_ an attractive young lady," her cheeks flushed scarlet as her eyes rose to meet mine again in alarm, "If you ask me, this low level jealously is a good thing," I tapped her lightly on the nose with a gentle smile, "It means he doesn't want to lose you. At least he's not making a big scene out of it."

"I…I guess so," she lowered her gaze slightly as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "It would be nice if he toned it down a bit more though."

"Well, I'm sure he won't have to worry much longer. It's only two more days until we reach Earth, and I'm sure it won't be much longer after that before you're both back save and sound in the Orb Homeland. Then he'll never have to see me again and have nothing to worry about."

"I guess so," she smiled faintly, a gesture that didn't quite meet her eyes, "It'll…be nice to see the Homeland again.

I merely smiled in return, "Well, it won't be long now. In the meantime, thank you for helping me with Miss Allster. Now, if you'll excuse me Miss Haw, I have other duties to attend to…"

"Miriallia."

"Hm?" I paused mid-turn, an eyebrow arched at the young teen before me, "Say again?"

"Miss Haw sounds…too formal," she smiled as she cocked to head to one side, "Just…Miriallia will be fine from now on, okay?"

"Erm…I don't…" I frowned slightly. I didn't want to drop formalities. I didn't mind so much that she called my by my first name, but if I did the same with her…I only called my friends by their first names. Was I…that comfortable with her?

"O…okay," I smiled shakily, "Alright then. Take care then…Miriallia."

She nodded, and smiled sweetly as I turned and headed for the door, all the while aware that Tolle Koenig's eyes were watching my every step until the doors closed behind me.

* * *

I apologise for all who were hoping for a large fight scene at the bgining of this chapter. In truth I did try to write one out, but it just seemed to be a mirror of the earlier attack in the Debries Belt. I'm also sorry for the amount of talking going on here. I didn't mean for it to be one of those infomation chapters, but it just seemed to fit.

Regarding Shiho's status as a Third Generation Coordinator, while I was researching Cosmic Era characters, I noticed next to nothing is known about Shiho's past. She always seemed like an interesting character from the suplimentry stuff she's in and it was a shame she wasn't more devloped in the actual series. I made her a Third Generation mostly because it would be different from all the other Coordinators, who are either firsts or seconds. considering the timeframe that Coordinators were first being born fifty years before the start of the series, I image Third Generations would be rare of Shiho's age, but not unheard of. But like I said, an interesting characteristic for the most part.

Thanks for reading,

Dearing


	8. Best Laid Plans

**PHASE 07**

**BEST LAID PLANS**

"_I will be the first to admit the destruction of a Laurasia class cruiser is impressive," _Admiral Sutherland sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose on the comm. screen, _"But if memory serves their orders were to _disable _the Archangel, not drive it away. These Extendeds are proving to be more trouble then their worth."_

"I take it then neither you or the patrol fleets within the Belt were unable to locate our carrier?" Azrael clasped his hands behind his back as he looked out over the stars beyond the think paned window. "Perhaps you're right. It might have been better to have waited a few months to see how this next batch will turn out. Mind you," he turned to glance at the computer slyly, "If we'd never lost the Archangel or her prototypes in the first place, we might not have had to rush into all this."

"_You can't blame me for something that was out of my hands!"_ Sutherland scowled darkly, _"If it had been up to me we'd have constructed all machines here on Earth instead of contracting Orb to build the initial prototypes…"_

"Well, what's past is past," the blond held up his hands in resignation, "Besides, we've completed the upgrades to the other three models and added the updates Mr. Guele…suggested we install into the OS, and the carrier will be underway shortly. I want you to bring the Extendeds back to Earth. If I'm right, we might be able to pincer the ship between us."

"_Are you so sure they'll head for Earth? I still believe they might be trying to make a push towards the PLANTs…"_

"Well that's the difference between you and me Admiral," Muruta smirked as he watched his new vessel slowly fly out of the blue world's shadow, "When it comes to Coordinators, I can read them like an open book!"

* * *

From space, the Earth looked more majestic then she could have ever imagined; a blue and green orb hanging in the black and starry void, clouds of white and grey staining its atmosphere to give it an almost weathered look, the lights of cities on her home's night side giving the planet two shades of beauty.

It was almost as though, for a moment, she could imagine the war was non-existent.

"Star gazing are we, Mudie?"

Sixteen year old Mudie Holcroft glanced back into the darkness of the observation deck as her fellow pilots emerged from the gloom.

"I was just admiring the Earth," she returned her gaze to the planet below, "It looks so…blue and pure from up here. It's almost like it isn't even tainted."

"But that's what we're here for right?" Shams Couza smirked as pushed his tinted glasses up his nose, "For the preservation of our blue and pure world? All we have to do is keep fighting, and with those new toys we've got down in the hanger, we'll be on even terms with the Coordinators. What do you think Sven?"

"I think you shouldn't be so cocky," the African-American eyed Sven Cal Payang with mild amusement as the grey-haired pilot folded his arms across his chest, "There's a big difference between simulation and actual combat. We're lucky Mr. Azrael chose us to become the new pilots. If we want to remain in good fortune, we should live up to his expectations…"

"Or get Mudie to sleep with him, that'll work too!" Shams laughed until his glasses were jarred from his face in the wake of a hard smack to the back of the head, "Hey!" she scowled at the scowling girl, "What was that for?"

Mudie continued to glare until he visibly winced, "I don't go for old geezers."

* * *

"Orb?" Mu La Flaga cocked an eyebrow at Commander Michaels through the Brig's bars as he lent against the opposite bulkhead, "Kind of a roundabout way of thinking you've got there Miss. You really think Orb is going to let you just waltz into their territory in a warship they helped build and get away with it?"

"They will when we inform them of the refugees we have on board," Sara smiled tightly at the pilot, "I don't doubt that the footage we have of the destruction of Heliopolis might be…persuasive," she paused, again taking a certain grim satisfaction at the uncomfortable air that suddenly fell across the Brig before continuing, "Orb values her citizens above all else, that's why they're neutral, and why we're banking on it when we reach orbit. As…payment for their safe passage, we'll request temporary asylum from the Earth Forces, and maybe some supplies at a stretch…"

"And you're telling us all this…" Natarle Badgiruel glanced at the white coat out of the corner of her eye from the bed, "Why?"

"Common courtesy," Sara smirked, "Even a gravity block doesn't create a perfect gee. It's my hope that we'll be on Earth before long. I just wanted to make sure you realised what the sudden change in gravity was."

"You seem very sure everything is going to go smoothly," Murrue Ramius frowned, "If you don't mind my asking…what are you going to do if Orb decides to attack you rather then help you?"

"ZAFT intel. indicates that Orb's space fleet, small as it is, is comprised of aging vessels from that both ZAFT and the Alliance no longer needed," Michaels smiled again, "You of all people should know this ship can hold more then its own against a Laurasia or a Nelson class…"

* * *

I cocked my head to one side as Sarah's jaw dropped to the vicinity of her ankles, "I don't know about you…but those don't really look like Laurasias…or Nelsons…"

Through the main window of the Bridge, two ships, both dwarfed by the larger Archangel at only two hundred and ninety metres apiece, slowly approached almost as though they outnumber us a hundred to one. Cast in metallic grey with sea green highlights, each ship seemed to be primarily built around a central catapult; mounted between long triangular protrusions above and below it that housed the large twin turrets that were currently deploying, gently sloping up to the all too familiar Bridge tower set between the large pillars that housed the massive engines and…

"Lohengrin," Canestro frowned as he indicated to the shallow sloped pillars, "Gottfried for main weaponry, and Igelstellungs for anti-air fire."

Dearka cocked an eyebrow at the engineer, "You can see all that from back here?"

"Enhanced eyesight," the green haired man tapped the side of his head with a smirk, "Always a crack shot back at the Academy. My instructor almost burst into tears when I told him I wanted to be an engineer…"

"So, once again, Intel. dropped the ball," Yzak sighed as he shook his head in disbelief, "If they start bleeding mobile suits across orbit, I think I'm going to have to shoot someone when we get back to the PLANTs."

"Yeah, but is this a case of Archangel being based on an Orb ship, or an Orb ship being based on stolen plans of the Archangel?" Sara frowned as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Either way, We're still the bigger ship. If needs be we can outrun them…"

"You know…this might actually account for why Orb sided with the Earth Alliance," Athrun spoke up quietly as he folded his arms across his chest, "If they appeared to side with the Earth Forces to build these machines…they could steal the plans and build their own…"

"But that doesn't make any sense," I shook my head, "We're allies with the Orb Union. We accept their neutrality. If we sell them our old ships, surely they'd accept a few old mobile suits…"

"But that's just it," Athrun's face became grave, "they obviously don't want old suits and ships. They want new ones. And in order to stay true to their neutrality, they don't want to buy new ones…even if we'd let them have them…"

"They want to build their own," Sara's eyes widened, "Orb's population is still mainly comprised of Naturals. If the Alliance managed to build a suit that could be piloted by Naturals, it would serve as a greater advantage to Orb then it would be if they aided ZAFT in building new mobile suits and stealing _our_ plans…"

"It still doesn't excuse them of what they did!" Yzak scowled darkly, "They betrayed our trust and broke our treaty with them. Remember that!"

A brief silence followed, before the console before Mira beeped in warning.

"I have the lead ship on the line Captain."

"Let's see it."

The screen above the main window flickered, before the imagine of a Orb Captain, middle aged with greying hair and a stern face, formed from amid the static.

"_This is Captain Kazuya Todoka of the Orb Union warship Tsukyomi. You have entered Earth orbit over the Orb territories. Identify yourselves."_

"I am Commander Sara Michaels," our Captain stepped forward as best she could in the zero gravity giving the Captain Todoka a formal salute, "Head of the Michaels Team, joint leader of the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit and acting Captain of the captured Earth Alliance warship Archangel. We are currently on the run from the Earth Alliance Forces, and we request asylum."

The Captain frowned on the screen, his hands flexing uneasily on his Chair's armrests.

"_I'm sorry Commander, but Orb cannot be allowed to take a side in this war. If we grant you asylum, the Earth Forces may take this as a sign we are siding with ZAFT, especially if, as you say, your vessel is one of their own vessels. You request for asylum is denied. Please alter your trajectory away from Orb territory…"_

"I know the Union is still clinging to its neutrality in this conflict, but please listen to me," Sara slowly rose from her chair, "We are carrying refugees from the Orb colony of Heliopolis that we rescued from a malfunctioning lifeboat, as well as information pertaining to the cylinder's destruction. If you will not let us through as soldiers of ZAFT, then will you at least let us through as a refugee ship?"

Todoka frowned again, before settling back into his chair.

"_I will contact my superiors to see what is the proper course of action here. You must understand however that I cannot just take your word that you are carrying survivors from Heliopolis. If we do let you through, we must be provided with proof first. Please remain here until I have contacted my superiors. Tsukyomi out."_

"Well," I smiled wryly at our Commander, "That could have gone worse. At least they're not shooting at us."

"Actually, I was sort of hoping they would just let us in," Sara slumped back into the Command Chair, running a hand over her flame red hair, "I can see where he's coming from…but I just wish we didn't have all this red tape to contend with. Ah well. Westfield," she glanced at me through her long fingers, "Go down below and fetch a couple of refugees from the group, preferably someone as high up on the governmental food chain as we can get. With any luck, that will be all the proof Orb needs, so we can get these people home."

"Don't think we have much of a selection, but I'll certainly ask," I sighed with a weary smirk as I headed towards the elevator, "I have to agree though; just once I'd like things to be simple on this damn voyage."

* * *

"…With things as they are, the word of a ZAFT Commander is understandably not enough to prove we are carrying refugees," I sighed as I cast my green eyes across the assembled crowd of civilians before me for the second time in under a week, "In addition, sending over a list of names isn't proof you're actually aboard. I am therefore asking for two people to come with me to the Bridge for identification. Are there any persons aboard who were attached to Heliopolis Government? Maybe even a secretary or anything like that…?"

"Our shelter was located in the Shopping District son," an elderly man near the back of the common area smiled pityingly, "Don't think those Government types spend a lot of time with us underlings…"  
I frowned uneasily as I the old man drifted off, his point made clear. To be truthful, any of the people before me would have been fine. A Government official might have made things progress more quickly however.

"My Daddy works for Mow-gan-rat!"

"Hush Elle!"

I blinked in surprise as the voice of a familiar little girl rose up out of the quiet, her mother, clearly embarrassed, keeping her eyes trained on the floor while Elle waved energetically.

"You husband works for Morgenroete?"

"Back in the Homeland, yes," Elle's mother shifted uncomfortably under my gaze, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to say anything about it. This ship, and your mobile suits…it's clear they were made by Morgenroete. I…I didn't want to say anything in case you thought he was a part of the Alliance's project."

"I see," I frowned uneasily, "Well…I don't think it will be much of a problem. We found you with the other survivors of the lifeboat, and we can't really hold you accountable for anything your husband does as a profession," I turned back to the crowd, "Is there anyone else willing to submit their Ids for identification? At this point anyone will do…"

It was then that I faded off as a hushed whisper of a familiar voice met my ears.

"Kira…what about those calculations from the Professor? Didn't Sai say they were from Morgenroete?"

"Miriallia Shh!"

"Morgenroete?" the brown haired teen froze as I turned to face him, my tone dangerous, "You…_you__'__re_ working for Morgenroete?"

"What? No!" Kira shook his head violently, "Professor Kana, he…it was just an analysis program for improving a Frame Setup Module we were working on…"

"Was Professor Kana working for Morgenroete?"

"S-sometimes…"

"These calculations and the analysis program, did you incorporate them into the Strike Gundam's OS when you reprogrammed it?"

He definitely flinched.

"…Yes…but I didn't realise what the calculations were until I incorporated them into the Operating System of the Gundam."

"You've lied to us…to Zala…once before. How do I know you're telling the truth now?"

"I didn't lie to Athrun…"

"You said you knew nothing about the Gundams!"

"I _didn__'__t_ know anything about the Gundams!" Kira glared angrily, "They were just simple calculations. They could have been for a dozen different machines…"

"And yet you figured out you could use those calculations to reprogram the OS?" I glowered angrily as I faced him down, "You should shut your trap quickly Yamato, your story's becoming more and more unbelievable by the second."

"I. didn't. know. Anything," each word was forced and harsh, "I didn't mention it to Athrun because I didn't think it was important,"

"Well, you thought wrong," I scowled darkly, "But right now Archangel is looking down four Gottfrieds separated between two Orb warships, so now really isn't the time to be arguing about this," I grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, "You'll do. Let's get this over with."

* * *

Never in my life had an elevator felt so small and constricting.

I wanted to pace. To vent my frustrations somehow. But all I could do was stand still in the three-man car; Elle and her mother on my left, and an uneasy Kira on my right, his hands clenching and unclenching in an effort to stay calm.

I wasn't irritated because Kira had lied to us. Right now, I wouldn't be surprised if we actually knew more about the Gundams then him, his friends and the Earth Alliance soldiers we had held down in the Brig put together. I just…felt betrayed. All five of the students had said they knew nothing of the Earth Force's G-Project. But if Kira had lied about the calculations, what if the others had lied about how much _they_ had known?

After a moment's thought, I came to the conclusion I had been around Sara for far too long.

"Mr. Westfield? Are you okay?"

I glanced at Elle, currently held in her mother's arms, quietly out of the corner of my eye, before returning my gaze to the metal doors before me.

I calmed myself. Entering into a situation in the wrong mood was a dangerous move, and right now being angry definitely wasn't the right state mind right now. There was no point in worrying about the past. What happened, happened. I had little doubt in my mind that we now knew ever nut and bolt of the five Gundams in our procession and the carrier we called home. If Kira, Miriallia or any of their friends knew anything about the G-Project, chances were we knew more about it and then some.

So lost was I in these thoughts however, that I didn't notice a small hand bridge the gap between us until it quietly graced my cheek. Turning to regard the hand's owner in surprise, Elle smiled sweetly as she rubbed her small fingers against my pale skin.

"Mommy always tells me a warm touch is good for easing the tensions of the soul," the child cocked her head to one side, "Do you think it's true, Mr. Westfield?"

For a moment, I didn't reply. I stared at Elle, admiring the wonder of childhood innocence, and taking note of the small apologetic smile that graced her mother's features.

After a moment more, I allowed a small private smile myself, one of my larger hands coming up to hold her smaller one in my palm.

"Thank you, Miss Elle."

The little girl merely nodded as she removed her hand and settled back into her mother's arms, just in time for the elevator doors to open onto Archangel's Bridge, and the middle of a conversation.

"…_A register doesn't prove you have refugees aboard," _Captain Todoka frowned, _"I must admit, I'm a little disappointed if you think we're so naive…_

"Captain, I am both very tired and under a whole lot of stress at the moment," Sara scowled as I pushed off into the zero gravity, my companions not far behind, "I have a skeleton crew and Earth Alliance has been chasing our tails since we left Heliopolis. You can't blame me for wanting to just get this mission over with as soon…"

"Now isn't the time however to go into such debates," all eyes suddenly turned to me as I floated down to the Bridge's middle tier, Sara sending me a dirty look as I once again interrupted her, "Captain Todoka, as requested I have brought proof that Archangel is carrying refugees of Heliopolis,"

"_As expected, my Superiors _have _requested proof. Chief Representative Athha has even taken special interest in these events,"_ Todaka's eyes travelled to the small group of civilians behind me, _"Are they the refugees?"_

"Two of them yes," I held out a hand behind me, "This is Karen Bidan and her daughter Elle, as well as Kira Yamato," I paused, my eyes flitted towards Athrun, "Mrs. Bidan's husband is a shipbuilder for Morgenroete in the Orb Homeland. Mr. Yamato…is a technical student from Heliopolis," I ignored the bewildered stare Kira tried to burn into the back of my skull as I turned back to the screen, "They are willing to submit their Ids for identification. We'll send you the complete list if we haven't already, but for now this should at least allow us to remain in orbit."

"_Right now, all I see is three human beings in civilian clothing,"_ Todoka smirked slightly, _"But I won't hold that against them. Transfer their data across to the Tsukyomi. I will forward it to my superiors. In the meantime, your request for orbit over Orb territory is granted. I'll let you know of the Council's decision as soon as possible. It might only be a few minutes. Tsukyomi out."_

For a moment, a stunned silence fell over the Bridge as the channel terminated, several pairs of eyes falling on me as I cast my own to the metal deck.

Finally, Sara broke the silence.

"Mira…Take Yamato and the Bidans' ID data and send it to the Tsukyomi. Quickly, before Westfield takes my whitecoat off me."

"Yes…Yes Ma'am."

* * *

Kira Yamato.

His face stared up from the portable computer screen, calm blue eyes that seemed to stare almost accusingly at the elder man that read his details.

To Uzumi Nara Athha, the teen's image served only as a reminder of how much time had passed.

"Their Identification cards match up to three of the missing persons from the Heliopolis list," his younger brother Homura ran a hand across his face and through his short blown back hair, "In addition, Yamato's data indicates he had access to Morgenroete's facilities on the colony, as well as loose ties to the Earth Forces' G-Project through his Professor," he glanced at the Chief Representative, "Speaking of which. Say we approve their plea of asylum. Are we just going to let the sail away with the Archangel and the G-weapons in hand?"

"Would you rather we held them against their will?" Uzumi chuckled darkly as the other council members shared uneasy glances, "Orb will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack them, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations. Archangel and the G-weapons currently belong to ZAFT. Even though we helped build them, is it really worth risking war with the PLANTs over one ship and five mobile suits? Holding the crew as prisoners might also appear as though we have officially sided with Earth Alliance. We've been lucky so far in that ZAFT has chosen not to use the evidence they gathered at Heliopolis as a reason to invade. We shouldn't push that luck to breaking point. Have the Archangel send the list of all Heliopolis colonists aboard to the Tsukyomi. Once we've verified whose on board, we'll begin preparations to bring her down to the surface. After that," Athha glanced at Kira's picture again, "Well…perhaps we can turn this event to our advantage."

* * *

The trip back to the refugee area was as silent as the trip to the Bridge. The quiet however seemed more…comfortable; Elle was nodding off quietly against her mother's shoulder while Kira kept his head bowed in thought as we made our way through the gravity block.

"How long do you think it will be before they let us land?" Karen Bidan finally spoke up.

"We have around two dozen survivors aboard, maybe more, and they want a list of them," I smiled gently over my shoulder as we approached the entrance to the refugee area, "It shouldn't take more then an hour or so. Because we've logged you, Elle and Yamato into the system, you'll be at the top of the list, so you won't have to wait in line," I turned to the face them at the entrance, "Thank you for your assistance," I reached out tentatively to pat the sleepy Elle's head fondly, "Both of you."

The small girl smiled hazily before smuggling deeper into her mother's shoulder, Karen merely nodding with a kind smile of her own as she moved off into the area.

"Mr. Westfield."

I turned towards Kira with a cocked eyebrow, confusion rising in my mind as I took in the conflicted look that crossed his face.

"You…you didn't mention…that is…me and Morgenroete…" he shifted uneasily under my gaze, "I just thought you might have mentioned it, so I was wondering…"

"I didn't want to upset Elle," If frowned as Kira looked up in surprise, "If I'd said anything in front of Commander Michaels, I have no doubt she would have blown up in my face about it. Besides, both myself, Nichol _and_ Athrun all attested to the fact you and your friends knew nothing. The last thing I need right now is to have mine and their integrity to be put into question. Be glad I didn't mention it Mr. Yamato; chances would be Sara would throw you back into private quarters if she found out, the fact we probably know everything about the Gundams be damned."

The brown haired Coordinator frowned for a moment, before nodding slowly, stopping only to mutter a short "Thank you," as he followed Elle and her mother into the Refugee Area to where his friends awaited.

Along with Miriallia…

For a moment, I watched as she exclaimed her surprise with her companions at Kira's sudden return, their voices muted by distance and the sounds of general chatter from their fellow refugees.

Clearly they had thought their friend in a while heap of trouble, my outburst upon leaving no doubt fuelling such thoughts.

I sighed as I returned to the elevator. It didn't really matter if Kira _had _been working for Morgenroete, not now. Our engineers and technicians knew every nut bolt and wire of the Archangel and her mobile suits inside and out. The last thing I really wanted was Sara to go on a witch hunt for information we no doubt probably knew already.

"Let me through!"

"Now look, you know you're not allowed beyond this point Miss…"

"I don't care! He's just down the corridor. Call him back…"

I pushed the call button as Miriallia's voice carried through the gravity block. Perhaps Kira hadn't explained what I'd said to him as well as he should have. I felt my shoulders sag as I heard her arguing with the guard.

The adrenaline from before had all but evaporated. I felt completely drained, exhausted even.

…

What was taking this damn elevator so long?

"Marcus!"

"Hey wait!"

The doors groaned apart as I ignored the scuffle behind me, my feet taking me into the confined space beyond before they had even fully opened. I was feeling tired and every joint seemed to ache. I just wanted to flop on my bed and…

"Marcus!"

It was the sound of her voice, now louder and accompanied by the sound of running feet, made me turn round in curiosity…just in time to feel something warm and soft slam into me.

Sheer momentum caused the two of us to trip over our feet and into the open car, air forced from my lungs as I crashed into the rear wall, a flurry of orange appearing to bounce off me and into the control panel on the lift's side.

"Hey! Stop that el…"

I vaguely remember hearing the shout of the greencoat as the doors hissed closed, the elevator humming to life and moving off as I slid to the ground trying desperately to return the air to my lungs.

"…Ow…"

"Are you alright?"

I glanced blearily through watery eyes as the blurry form of Miriallia quickly came back into focus, a weak smile playing across her lips as she lent heavily against the side of the car.

"Oh yes," I pulled myself gingerly to my feet, steadying myself against the rail, "Peachy. Tell me, what was so important that you felt the need to try and plough me through a bulkhead?"

She blinked in surprise as I smiled wryly through hazy wheezing, before turning her dark blue eyes to her shoes.

"I just…" she fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve, "I just wanted to say…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting you in a spot like that. I wasn't thinking I…"

She trailed off lamely as she averted her eyes, letting the hum of the elevator become the only sound.

I stared at her quietly, slowly digesting what little she'd said and mentally making sure I'd heard her right.

Then…I laughed.

Muffled at first, my shoulders shaking as I tried to stifle it, before I gave into temptation and laughed aloud. I couldn't help it and the indignant look she gave me only made me laugh harder.

"What's so funny?"

"You…you…" my sides hurt from a combination of my laughter and the winding I had endured not moments ago, "You argued with the guard, broke out of the refugee area and ran me over…just to tell me you're sorry?" I tried and failed to smother my mouth down to a bare chuckle, "It couldn't have waited until my next visit? You…you don't think it's just a tad ridiculous?"

She scowled slightly as the laughter escaped my mouth again, before a small private smirk graced her features. Soon her own giggles mixed with mine and for a moment I felt like everything had changed. For a moment we weren't ZAFT redcoat Marcus Westfield and ORB refugee Miriallia Haw. There was no war within the confinement of the elevator car as it travelled to who knew where. For that briefest of moments, it didn't even matter that we were Coordinators and Naturals. We were just two teenagers, laughing at something we both perceived to be utterly random for no reason whatsoever.

It felt…normal.

Normal…the very thought caused something to catch in my throat, my amusement fading away moments later. When had I considered my work be _ab_normal? I was a ZAFT redcoat, an evaluation engineer and mobile suit pilot. There were many soldiers just like me, especially since Junius Seven. It was a profession just like any other, like a garage mechanic or a newsagent…

…

No, being a soldier wasn't a regular profession. A newsagent doesn't go out and kill his rivals unless he's completely lost it, neither does a garage mechanic maintain machine guns and mobile suits unless he's a civilian contractor. A soldiers' work is unlike any other. We only exist because there are others like us working of the enemy. We all kill in different ways, and not always with guns and knifes. A technician that maintains a GINN's assault rifle assists in every death that is caused by pulling its trigger. A General could potentially be held accountable for the deaths caused by his orders. How many casualties had been caused by the Technical Evaluation Units and their Evaluation Engineers with every advancement we had approved?

…

To take lives with guns and steel…it just wasn't natural, let alone normal.

"Hey, you okay?"

I was jerked roughly from my thoughts as I felt Miriallia's hand gently grab my shoulder, my green eyes slowly travelling up the connecting arm to lock with her bright blue orbs.

I smiled gently, albeit half heartedly.

"I'm fine. Sorry, I just spaced out for a moment there."

She frowned, her head cocked slightly to one side, before sighing with a shrug as the elevator moved out of the gravity block.

"That guard's going to be pretty mad when I get back," she let herself drift away from me in the diminishing gravity, "Why didn't you come back when I called you?"

"I was tired," I shrugged, my mind still reeling from recent ugly thoughts, "I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind right now."

"It's fine…I guess," Miriallia smiled slightly, "It must be hard for you; on the run from the Earth Forces, protecting this ship…I can't imagine the stress you all must have been under,"

"Well, it'll be over soon," I smiled wearily, "Once we've sent the our list of refugees to Orb, I'm sure it'll be smooth sailing from there…"

And then, as though to prove me wrong…the lights flickered and dimmed as the Archangel shuddered from the first volley of enemy fire.

* * *

"What the Hell was that?" Sara staggered onto the Bridge as Archangel listed violently from it's recent assault, "Status report people!"

"Minor damage to starboard engines," Valdo, a greencoat seated at Fire Control, responded as she pushed off down to the Command Chair, "it was just a glancing shot, nothing major."

"It can't of come from the Orb ships then," the redhead scowled at the vessels above and below her ship, "There's no way they'd miss at this range,"

"Shots came from higher plane of orbit," Ryan glanced up from the CIC pit, "We have visual…looks like a fleet…an entire battle fleet!"

"Let me see it," Sara gripped the armrests tightly as she braced herself, "Maximum magnification. Let me see it!"

As the screen above the main window changed, something caught in her throat.

Drakes and Nelsons dominated the screen. At least two dozen of each vessel cruised steadily towards them, the hundreds of tiny Moebius mobile armours flying in tight formation around them giving the Commander a clear indication of what lay ahead. But what really made her heart clench was the vessel that led this fleet towards the Archangel; a double hulled vessel of black and grey, so familiar to her it was as though she was staring into a darkened mirror.

"No…No, no, no…"

"_Attention Archangel, this is Admiral Lewis Halberton; Commander of the 8th Fleet and captain of the Earth Forces Carrier Dominion. Surrender peacefully and move away from the Orb vessels. If you attempt to escape you will be destroyed. This is your only warning. What is your reply?"_

Sara's throat were dry as the stranger's voice seemed to echo around the Bridge, her knuckles white as her fingers remained clenched around the armrests. As she pulled the phone from the side of her chair however, her voice was strong and resolute, her eyes narrowed and hardened as she addressed her ship:

"All hands: Condition Red. Pilots to your mobile suits, double time!"

* * *

I'll admit this isn't one of the best chapters. It's really just setting the scene for the next one, which I feel is one of the best :). It also introduces more key elements, such as the Stargazer trio. I've always felt Stargazer would have made a great full fledged OVA at least. It had a great story that if fleshed out might have been better then both Seed and Destiny combined. They're appearance here will be explained later though, but I can't say much more without spoiling everything.  
Long time readers might also notice I took down the KiraxLacus character listings. This is because I was getting a few complaints about the lack of either character, which I can understand. I formally apologise to anyone who was reading in the hopes of seeing this pairing.

Reviews and/or feedback is always appreciated. I hope your enjoying the story so far.

Dearing


	9. Our Phantom Pain

**PHASE 08**

**OUR PHANTOM PAIN**

"Do you really think it's wise to give them an ultimatum like that? You're only giving them a chance to prepare for battle after all."

Lewis Halberton scowled slightly as Muruta Azrael glided to his side. Had it been up to the Admiral, the blond haired man would have stayed behind at Victoria. A civilian had no place on the Bridge of a warship in his humble opinion. His superiors had clearly thought otherwise.

Now the director of the Atlantic National Defence Conglomerate stood on Dominion's Bridge as though he had always been there; an air of superiority surrounding him as he smiled pleasantly down at the Admiral, clearly awaiting a response.

"We've put a great deal of effort into the construction of the Archangel and her prototypes," Halberton steeped his hands as he gazed out across the void to where their target lay, "I would prefer it if we retrieved them all in relatively good condition and with minimum bloodshed…"

"Good condition? Look around you Admiral," Azrael laughed mockingly, sweeping his hands across the Bridge, "We have the Dominion don't we? Three advancements of the original models are awaiting deployment from the Launch bays. Another three new models lie in wait on the Doolittle, and all six pilots will be more then a match for the five ZAFT has captured. If it were me, I'd have destroyed them by now…"

"_Then let us be glad I am not, nor shall I ever be, you."_

"Admiral Halberton," Lewis glanced at his First Officer, Captain Hoffman, as he looked up from the shoulder of the CIC officer, "Sir, we have an incoming communication from Orb carrier Tsukyomi. They say it's urgent."

"Ignore them," Halberton scowled darkly as Muruta smirked, "This is a matter of the Earth Forces. If Orb wishes to remain neutral, they'll know better then to interfere…"

"Let me hear him," Lewis smiled tightly as the blond glared indignantly at being interrupted, "Might I remind you Director Azrael that you are a civilian and an observer in this operation. I am…grateful…that you allowed us use of soldiers from the 81st Autonomous Mobile Group, but technically the Dominion and her mobile suits still fall under the jurisdiction of the G-Project. These are my machines, and my crew. I will not have you giving them orders on my Bridge, understand?"

Azrael scowled for a moment more, before allowing a tight smile of his own to grace his pale features.

"Alright. We'll play it your way."

Lewis frowned, but turned his attention to Dominion's main screen. Azrael had given in too easily. This was a man who clearly had had his own way throughout his life. The Admiral had expected at least a small argument before the director backed down. This new development only meant he would have to keep a closer eye on Muruta Azrael.

"Let's see them."

The main screen blinked and reformed into the head and shoulders of a man clad in the Orb uniform of blue and white, his lined face calm and set.

_This is Captain Kazuya Todoka of the Orb Union warship Tsukyomi. As of current, ZAFT warship Archangel is carrying Orb survivors from Heliopolis, and is therefore under our protection as a refugee ship. If you attempt to attack those aboard, we will take it as an act of aggression against the Orb Union. In addition, any further advancement towards Archangel or our own vessels will also be viewed as an act of aggression. Turn your ships around immediately or face the consequences."_

"Heliopolis…"

Lewis paled considerably. The destruction of Orb's colony had been hurriedly covered up by the Atlantic Federation. Orb herself had remained mute, at least to the outside world. Clearly those that ruled her were aware that any announcement to the other nations of the Earth Sphere could be seen as taking a side in this damned war. The PLANTs and ZAFT would surely swoop in to try and gain an ally in the tiny yet advanced nation, as the Earth Alliance and OMNI tried to stop them.

But the way Todoka spoke, his voice hard and harsh with eyes as cold as ice, Halberton knew Orb hurt from Heliopolis' destruction, and were fully aware of who had torn their colony apart.

Earth Alliance was no longer welcome in Orb's bed, and the Admiral cursed the 81st Autonomous Mobile Group for their suicidal stupidity.

* * *

"_All hands: Condition Red. Pilots to your mobile suits, double time!"_

I couldn't help but wince as alarm bells rang over Mira's calm voice, one hand clenched tightly around Miriallia's as I pulled her through the zero gravity.

Was another battle coming? Was Sara just being careful? The answers to such questions of course could only be answered if another was asked before them: Who had fired against the Archangel?

Behind me, Miriallia was casting wary gazes left and right as she let me drag her down the corridors that surrounded the Launch Bay, her eyes betraying her fear and unease as she kept her free hand close to her chest. Any greencoats that passed us by largely ignored us, the few that glanced curiously at the orange dress quickly sent on their way with a stern look or a sharp comment on my part. The threat of battle was more important then a redcoat and a civilian escort after all.

"Where…where are we going?"

"The storage rooms for the normal suits," I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "I don't know what's going on, so it'll be better if you just stay there until everything smoothes out. Here we are."

The storage room was a simple non-descriptive block of grey near the Launch Bay, a rack of lockers mounted against one wall with several green sofas placed in neat lines so as the room could double as a lounge for the engineers and mobile suit technicians when in a gravity environment, a pair of screens on either side of the door showing the open space beyond the Archangel's hull. Without wasting any time I quickly pulled my friend inside and pushed off towards the lockers, Miriallia glancing nervously around as though she expected some perverted Coordinator to jump out of the walls.

"Here, put this on." I barely saw her look of surprise before she found a bulky normal suit wrapped around her head, "Whoops! Sorry."

She merely gave me an annoyed glare over the top of the suit's life support pack.

"Why do I need to wear this?"

"Insurance. I have no idea what's going on at the moment. We might be heading into battle for all I know, and if the ship gets hit…well…this will increase your chances of survival should that shot hit here right?"

The irony that I, a man who detested wearing constricting yet life saving pilot suits, was trying to convince someone to wear a bulkier version in the slim hope that it might save her life should things go awry was not lost on me. Nonetheless, Miriallia's face seemed to go several shades whiter as she digested my words, before nodding hesitantly in agreement.

"Wait for me here," I placed comforting hands on her shoulders, "Don't leave this room unless you absolutely have to. Don't open the door for anyone but me, understand? I'll get back as fast as I can, and you'll be back with the others before you know it."

"O…okay," she nodded hesitantly, her eyes firmly attached to her shoes, "You…be careful out there."

I smiled and squeezed her shoulder again, ignoring the tightness I was feeling in my chest. Events such as this were a comfort when you were about to head out into unfamiliar situations. For the briefest of moments we stood together in awkward silence, until Mira's voice echoed through the hallways.

"_Marcus Westfield, please report to the Launch Bay ASAP!"_

I sighed as I felt the tiredness from before creep back. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to fight. I wanted to go back, and relish that one moment of normality the two of us shared in the elevator car.

Then a memory flashed through my mind; a young teen of only sixteen with a mop of unruly brown hair, dark eyes watching my every step as I left the refugee area.

Tolle Koenig.

With his scowling face at the back of my mind, I slowly let my hands drop to my sides.

"I'll be right back," I smiled as she raised her eyes to mine, "Put on the normal suit, close the door, and I'll get you back to your boyfriend as fast as I can, alright?"

She nodded wordlessly, which I took to mean yes. Pushing off towards the doorway, I could feel her eyes watching the back of my head as I made my way into the corridor, our eyes briefly meeting as I turned to close the hatch and seal her in.

* * *

"_And where have you been Westfield?"_

"Bathroom," I didn't even bother to look at Yzak's image on the communication screen as I pushed into the Strike's cockpit, one hand pulling my helmet down with a click as the Gundam's hatch clanked closed, "Zipper got stuck. What's the situation?"

"_Big, bad mojo,"_ Sara's solemn face appeared between the three other pilots, _"While you were fiddling with your pants, the Earth Forces sneaked up on us with the entire 8th Fleet and another Archangel at the head of it! Todoka is trying to use politics to stall them, but it's only a matter of time before things start blowing up again. Westfield, Zala, I want you both on the catapults immediately. When the shit hits the fan…and it will…you're to launch at once, understood?"_

"_Ma'am."_

"Yes Ma'am."

* * *

"This matter does not concern the Orb Union," Lewis Halberton scowled as he stared Todoka down agitatedly, "Archangel is an Earth Alliance vessel. Stand down and move away immediately…"

Todoka's frown darkened, _"__Perhaps I have not made myself clear. As I have said before, Archangel is currently under the control of ZAFT, and is carrying Orb refugees. This makes it our concern Admiral. Commander Michaels has requested asylum as a refugee ship, which the council has granted. Move away now, or you will be destroyed.__"_

"Am I really hearing this?" Azrael smiled tightly as he stepped up beside the command chair, "Captain, I suggest you be more reasonable. You only have two ships, we have many more. If you continue this foolishness, you're only going to end up dead. I suggest you back off now…while you're still able to…"

His voice died abruptly as a beam of green sliced through space, its light blinding all on Dominion's Bridge as it streaked by, narrowly missing several Drakes and Nelson on its way out.

"_Stay back,"_ Todoka's voice was deadly calm, _"Move any closer, and I am authorised to fire in the name of protecting our citizens. Don't think for a second I won't do it."_

"I…I don't think you fully understand the situation here," Halberton's voice was dry, his face pale from his close brush with death as Azrael clenched the back of the command chair tightly, "If you would put me in contact with Chief Representative Athha, I'm sure we can…"

"_I understand enough. Commander Michaels was kind enough to send over all data pertaining to the destruction of Heliopolis. I've seen your ships, that the destruction they brought there. You will back off now Admiral. Any further movement towards our space will be considered an act of aggression against the Union. This is your last warning. Tsukyomi out."_

Silence met the Bridge as the screen winked out, the tension within the command centre thick as Lewis tightened his grip around the armrests of his chair.

"Sir," the CIC officer spoke up hesitantly from the pit, breaking the silence, "I've received word the Doolittle has arrived in Earth Orbit. Its rendezvous is seven minutes. She's requesting orders."

Halberton didn't reply, not for a moment, to the point the officer was afraid his superior hadn't heard him. Only when Azrael laughed quietly did the Admiral realised the implication of the Doolittle's appearance.

"You can't be serious."

"Why not?" Muruta smiled unnervingly, "We have a golden opportunity here. If we have Doolittle launch her mobile suits, we can say it was necessary; they were unaware of the situation, and tracking down the Archangel was their original assignment."

"It will cause an international incident!" Halberton spat angrily, "Our relationship with Orb is frayed right now and you want to pull at the stitches! If we attack them now they will turn against us!"

Azrael merely shrugged. "You worry too much. Orb is a tiny blot on the face of the Earth. I'll admit, they've made some impressive technological advances, but you have to see the big picture. They don't have the forces to adequately take us on, and anything they have to give ZAFT we already have."

"You shouldn't underestimate these people."

"And you shouldn't overestimate them. Regardless, this matter is out of your hands," before he could be stopped, Azrael pushed off towards the communication console behind the Admiral, "Doolittle is under _my_ control, not yours, and her mobile suits aren't currently under your command either. If you want to sit here and die when the beams start flying, that's your choice."

* * *

The entire ship seemed to shudder around Shani as she released her first volley, the green haired man smiling slightly as Forbidden's cockpit hatch groaned close.

This was a chance, Sutherland had said. A chance at redemption for past mistakes. They would be working with the three new pilots; pure Naturals using an experimental OS for their G-weapons. If he failed here today, it could potentially mean the end of the Extended program. His brothers and sisters at Lodonia…their sacrifices for a blue and pure world would be for nothing.

"_X252 Forbidden, you are cleared for launch."_

With Gamma Glipheptin pumping through his body, he didn't reply as the darkness of space opened up before him. He just pressed down on the accelerator and flew out into the night, the forms of Calamity and Raider appearing behind him moments later.

* * *

Across the void, Sven Cal Payang sat patiently in the cockpit of the Strike Noir, his light blue eyes taking in the beginning of the battle on his overhead screen.

Beams were flying all directions as the Archangel tried to move away from the line of fire, a hail of missiles erupting from its aft as the three Extended's G-weapons launched out into space.

The Orb ships remained strangely silent, unmoving. No doubt the captain of the lead ship was currently arguing with Halberton…if Azrael had even let the Admiral reconnect to the neutral vessels. The blond haired man had a way of being…persuasive like that.

Archangel was launching mobile suits now: one, two, three of them, the third transforming into a mobile armour mere moments after it had left the catapult as their carrier turned once more to face the fleet. Clearly its Commander wanted to keep his or her ship's main armament facing the greater threat while letting the mobile suits deal with the Doolittle. A wise decision, considering what he knew of the mission plan…

A thought he continued to muse over until he noticed the Orb warships pivoting towards them as well. And when portions of each vessel opened up to reveal rather threatening looking cannons, he felt his hands grasp the controls sticks tightly before Halberton's voice roared across the ship.

"_ALL HANDS, BRACE FOR IMPACT!"_

Six beams of bright orange light sliced through the darkness, cutting down all in their paths with little resistance. Moebius armours careened out of the way as Nelsons and Drakes erupted into fantastic explosions of purplish light and debris that rattled and pinged of Dominion's armoured hull. Inside the hanger, engineers and technicians were thrown from their stations as Dominion's helmsman veered the ship away from the closest beam. Anything not bolted down was sent flying across the deck, Mudie's Blu Duel, still parked in its maintenance bay, leaning threateningly over the commotion before its pilot managed to self-right.

"_S…Strike Noir,"_ the CIC officer's voice was shaky in his speakers as Dominion slowly ceased to quake, _"Launch…immediately!"_

"Roger," Sven's eyes narrowed as his mobile suit thrummed with energy and the catapult doors opened onto space. He would make them pay for every soul lost in that deceitful attack, "Sven Cal Payang. Strike Noir, heading out."

The Noir was forced forward, the stars beckoned to him, as they had always done…until another burst of light blocked his view.

For a moment, the fear of death gripped his heart before years of training took over, his G-weapon almost screaming in complaint as he pulled it off its intended course but not far enough. The orange and red beam sliced through the left-hand wing as though it was made of paper, the metal boiling away into nothingness, Phase Shift armour be damned, before narrowly clipping Dominion's hull, cracking the open hanger door apart.

It was then that the pilot saw it: the fourth stolen G-weapon standing defiantly on the edge of the Archangel's catapult deck, its hyper impulse cannon connected to the carrier via a large thick power cable.

His own Noir's older brother: GAT-X105 Strike.

* * *

Chaos had arrived on the battlefield, and I was taking full advantage of it.

As the remains of the 8th Fleet tried to reorganise themselves, I picked off Moebius and damaged Drake or Nelson from the relative safety of the Archangel, the key word being relative.

Above and behind me, Athrun, Dearka and Yzak fought off the enemy Gundams as they tried to sink the Archangel as quickly as possible. Smoke was already trailing from our carrier's port missile launchers, and I was forced to use the cannon at lower power levels in order to save most of the energy for the Gottfried and Valiants.

High above meanwhile, the two Orb warships fired on anything that came too close. A part of me was grateful; it was good to have allies, even if their only concern was the refugees held within Archangel's hull.

"_Marcus, the Commander requests you cease fire and prepare for mobile suit combat," _Mira appeared calmly on the screen,_ "We're sending out the Cosmograsper with the Aile Striker. Prepare for docking manoeuvres. The Grasper will pick up the Launcher once procedures are completed,"_

"Roger that," I disengaged the plug from the cannon as I saw the dark grey plane soar out of the opposite hanger. I had been watching the three new mobile suits that had deployed out of the Dominion. They had been keeping close to the fleet up until now, but I knew it would only be a matter of time before they bore down on us to aid their comrades.

Raising up into the air, I took out one last Drake and three of it's Moebius escorts with two high powered shots before ejecting the Launcher as the Cosmograsper shot by, it's pilot giving me a thumbs up through the clear canopy as the Aile connected to the Strike's back. I returned the gesture (even though I knew he wouldn't be able to see it) as I caught the rifle and turned to face the fleet…just in time to see an all too familiar machine, clad in blue and grey with bulky shoulders, bear down on me with twin beam pistols blazing.

* * *

Were they winning? Or were they losing?

Sara couldn't tell. All she could see was chaos. The combined attacks of six Lohengrins had thinned out the numbers of the 8th fleet to be sure, and Marcus with the Launcher's cannon had only decreased the Naturals' advantage, but the fact of the matter was even with Orb's aid they were heavily outnumbered.

"_We don't fight for you. We fight for those you protect."_

That had been Todoka's last words to her before they had opened fire. Orb was only loyal to the Archangel as long as she carried refugees. As deceitful as it sounded, Sara planned to keep this advantage for as long as she possibly could.

With the remains of the fleet back in relative order, the Moebius units started to swarm the three ships. Many were cut down by anti-aircraft fire, but many more got through and pounded the hulls of the defending vessels. The only bright side to all of this was the fact they _were_ only Moebius mobile armours. Off to port she could barely watch as Marcus and the Strike tried to fight off a heavily improved Duel Gundam. Had the Alliance gotten to the point of mass producing these monstrosities, the Commander shuddered to think of fast the battle would have reached its conclusion.

* * *

Down below, encased from head to toe in a bulky normal suit with the visor unsealed, Miriallia watched what little she could see of the battle unfurl on the static screens beside the door in horrified fascination. She could only stare as Moebius mobile armours tore through the night, trying get into an optimum position to deploy their missile payloads before Archangel's Anti-air guns ripped them to pieces, shiver quietly as A Nelson exploded from concentrated fire from the two Orb ships, its shrapnel slicing through a nearby Drake. As Archangel pivoted, she could make out the Duel in a three way battle with a mobile suit that kept changing between a humanoid and bird-like form and a domed machine with the ability to curve its enemy's beam attacks. The Buster was currently fending it's heavily armoured twin and another blue hued twin barrelled Gundam off Archangel's starboard, while the Aegis fought to keep the black Strike away from the Orb warships, each with limited success. And in the middle of these hellish scenes, she caught sight of the mistakable blue and white armoured form of the Strike.

In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, Marcus' Gundam battled vainly against another mobile suit; a bulky machine cast in armour of various shades of blue. Rifle and pistols had been discarded in favour of sabers, blades of bright white light clashing together with showers of sparks across the night as the Drake detonated behind them.

Something clutched in her chest as she watched this one duel among many fought out before her, her hands clenching clumsily inside the suit as the Strike began to take more blows then it delivered out.

"Come on Marcus," her voice was barely a murmur for fear of being heard, "You said you'd be right back. Don't die on us now."

* * *

"Fall damn you!"

Mudie glared angrily at the Strike as she landed blow after blow against its crimson shield and own beam saber. Nothing she did seemed to get through and it irritated her. She was better then this. The fact she was going toe to toe with a Coordinator proved she was more elite then even the most veteran of Moebius mobile armour pilots.

"So why won't you fall?"

As if to answer her question, the Strike let loose a barrage of machine gun fire from its head mounted vulcans as she came in for another blow, the sudden attack catching the Natural by surprise as several bullets smashed through the Blu Duel's left eye.

"Bastard!" she pulled back as the Strike sheathed its saber and retrieved its beam rifle, "I'll make you pay for that!"

The enemy suit had barely clasped its large hand around its weapon before it found three of her 'stiletto' anti-armour penetrators embedded it its shield. To her mild amusement, the pilot had the sense to throw its only defence from her away before the three second fuse detonated, spraying the mobile suit with shrapnel.

"Now, let's try this dance again shall we?" Mudie smiled as she fished a pistol from Blu Duel's side, "Who said you could leave anyway?"

* * *

The world was blurring before his eyes. The sting of withdrawal was starting to stab at his veins.

But Shani didn't care. He couldn't care. He had to down at least one of the damn G-weapons. Otherwise the Extended program was in jeopardy. His supposed comrades were also beginning to weaken. As he himself momentarily broke off his attack, he could already hear Orga and Clotho begin to grunt with pain as the effects of the Gamma Glipheptin began to wear off. They knew, as he did, that it had to be an Extended that finished off a G-weapon, and maybe even the Archangel herself. They couldn't let upstart Naturals ruin everything and make their sacrifices for naught.

Through the haze of pain that was clouding his mind, the green haired pilot heard the loud screech of a proximity alarm. The Earth…the fight had somehow drawn closer to the planet below, which meant Archangel and her escorts had also drawn closer to the homeworld. This meant any pilot had to be wary, less the pull of gravity bring a fiery death.

A sudden barrage of beam fire brought Shani out of his daze as he almost automatically deployed Forbidden's dome, the green streams of light bending effortlessly to Geschmeidig Panzer energy deflection armour as his attacker, the crimson Aegis, soared by to swoop round for another attack run.

A sudden feral grin crossed his face as a battle plan formed in his mind. Making sure the Scythe was securely held in Forbidden's hands, Shani pushed his mobile suit after the red G-weapon, determination pushing all pain to the back of his mind.

* * *

"A decent!" Sara stared at the Orb Captain incuriously as Archangel rocked from another shot too close for comfort, "In the middle of a battle? Are you insane!"

"_We have no choice in the matter," _Todoka scowled down from the screen above, _"Commander, this is a fight we cannot win. Our ships are capable of a decent into the atmosphere, as is the Archangel."_

"We can't fire and descend through the atmosphere at the same time!" Sara clenched the armrests of the command chair tightly, "We'll be sunk the minute we begin heading down…"

"_And you'll eventually be sunk if you remain in orbit,"_ As though to prove his point, a Moebius unit exploded outside the Bridge's window, _"It is a risk you have to take. As a refugee ship, you are obligated to protect those you have taken in. We will protect you for as long as we can. You must descend now, before you are destroyed."_

Sara grimaced tightly. She didn't like the feeling of guilt that was settling in her stomach.

"With such short notice, I can't guarantee we'll made landfall anywhere near Orb…"

"_Then you will make for the Homeland at best speed,"_ for the briefest of moments, Todoka smirked, _"We have given a lot for your protection Commander Michaels, I pray you have the decency to repay our debt. Tsukyomi out."_

Debt. A scowl etched itself into Sara's features. As far as she was concerned there was no debt. Todoka had made it quite clear they had opened fire on the Alliance to protect the citizens aboard the Archangel. The fact there were ZAFT officers and soldiers aboard made no difference to them.

That didn't stop a guilty pang from flitted through her heart though.

"Sanchez, recall our mobile suits. Kamna, begin making preparations for our decent to the Earth's surface."

* * *

"Are they insane!" I grimaced as I ducked behind the wreckage of a fallen Nelson, my vulcan cannons tearing through the fuselage of a Moebius that got to close as I continued to fend off the armoured Duel in a running fight across the battlefield, "We can't just leave now! We're in the middle of a battle here!"

"_Those are the Commander's orders," _Mira's image broke up for the barest moment as the Duel swung over the wreck, just in time for its face to connect with the Strike's fist, _"The Buster has returned to give covering fire and the Duel has just entered the Hanger bay. We're heading back in five minutes. You've got to get back in that time!"_

"Alright, I'm coming," I pulled back as a barrage of missiles erupted from the launchers on my opponent's shoulders, only for a warning light to go off in my head, "Wait a minute…Where's the Aegis?"

* * *

"Trying to escape again!" Mudie glared as the Strike holstered its beam rifle on its back and rocketed off towards the Archangel, "You get back here! I'm not done with you!"

As she brought her arm mounted Scorpion rail gun to bear and aimed down her sights for the Strike's Aile pack, she didn't notice the mobile suit pull something from a compartment on its thigh. It was only when the blue and white mech turned and threw the long sharp object her way did she realise it was a mobile suit sized combat knife.

The blade of the knife caught edge of the barrel from the inside as she pulled the trigger, wedging itself across the opening as the handle snapped forward from impact.

The results were…expected.

Shrapnel and debris exploded outward as the rail gun detonated, the Blu Duel blown back from the blast. Alarms shrieked in her ear as static dominated the cockpits screens, the main cameras having been taken out by the amount of shrapnel at such close range.

Bearing her teeth, Mudie could only slam a fist against the armrest in frustration.

Dammit! Lucky shot!"

* * *

Athrun was in trouble, and he knew it.

Battling the domed mobile suit on the fringes of the atmosphere, he could already feel the tug of gravity on the Aegis' armour, the curve of the Earth gradually dominating his cameras with every passing minute.

He had lost his beam rifle, and his rapidly depleting energy reserves meant the Scylla energy cannon was next to useless if he wanted to keep the Phase Shift Armour intact, leaving only a single beam saber to fend off the relentless attacks of his attacker.

The domed mobile suit was relentless and aggressive in its assault; smashing into the Aegis with its heavy scythe before pulling back to release a barrage from its rail cannons before Athrun could react. It had been this tactic that had slowly pushed him towards the Earth, which lead the blue haired coordinator to on conclusion:

His enemy was suicidal.

It was the only way to explain such brutal tactics. The opposing pilot was going to ensure the Aegis' destruction by burning it up in the atmosphere, even if that meant ending his or her own life.

"_Athrun Zala, please return to the Archangel. We are beginning a decent to the Earth's surface. You must return immediately!"_

Athrun smiled grimly. Gravity was now pulling him back into his seat, the edge of his cameras tinted red as Aegis began its re-entry.

"Negative Archangel," as he spoke, he pivoted his Gundam around and transformed into mobile armour mode, all the while aware of the constant hail of rail fire from the domed Gundam above, "I'm caught up in Earth's gravity well. I'm going to try and break through using the Aegis' mobile armour mode and diverting all power to the Phase Shift armour," he winced as a particular shot glanced off his machine, "Even then, I'm under heavy fire. I may not get through this…"

"_Don't give up so easily!"_

Athrun's eyes widened as new voice cried out on his speakers, his hands quickly switches his cameras to a rear-side view in time to see the Strike collide painfully with domed Gundam.

"Westfield?"

* * *

Pure agony wracked Shani's body. The effects of Gamma Glipheptin had now all but worn off and now only pure adrenaline and sadistic pride at his accomplishment was keeping the young pilot sane.

The red G-weapon Aegis was falling down to Earth. An Extended had taken one of the enemy mobile suits down. The project would prevail…

And then the Strike had intervened.

He only had time to turn round at the sound of a proximity alarm before the white and blue machine slammed into Forbidden's chest, forcing both mobile suits down after the Aegis to the green Earth below.

The cockpit was starting to heat up from re-entry, ironically dulling the pain his body was swallowed up in somewhat. Maybe it was the thought that death would soon come for him. The Forbidden itself was pinned under the Strike, its arms held fast in an iron grasp, its legs held down awkwardly by its opponent's knees.

A grin spread across his delirious face. This was all too perfect. Now two G-weapons would be brought down by an Extended. But that's when he saw it: the Aegis, in mobile armour mode, slicing through the atmosphere a little below him, its arms brought together in a point.

Fear and anger suddenly engulfed him. The Aegis was going to pierce the atmosphere! New vigour took over him as he forced all of his might against the controls of the Forbidden, determined to free one his machine's arms and make sure at least one Coordinator died by his hand today.

* * *

"Buster and Duel have successfully landed. Aegis and Strike have still not returned,"

Sara grimaced at Mira's report, her knuckles going white as she gripped the armrests tightly. Zala's last report had indicated he was heading into the atmosphere, and she had lost track of Marcus and the Strike since it had got caught up in its battle with Blu Duel.

"_Where is that idiot?"_

"Receiving communication from the Tsukyomi. They're asking why we haven't begun our decent yet."

"Inform them two of our machines have yet to return." It was a lame excuse, but the Commander was unwilling to have come this far only to loose half their cargo, "We cannot head for Earth until…"

"Commander! The Susanoo!"

Sara only had the barest of moments to glance at the second Orb warship before the first beam sliced through the hull. From above, two Nelsons barraged the vessel as it shield Archangel, the onyx and emerald forms of the upgraded Strike and Buster darting around the sinking ship as it began to fall towards the Earth. On the opposite side, the Tsukyomi's anti-air guns tried valiantly to ward off two of the first new Gundams from its thruster arrays, lest it befell the fate of its sister.

Her heart heavy, an anguished sneer crossed the whitecoat's face as she slammed a fist against the armrest.

"Kamna…commence decent immediately."

"Ma'am?" the helmsman turned to look nervously at his Commander, "But Sanchez said the Aegis and the Strike haven't returned."

"Then let us hope they find a way down by themselves," a dark scowl had settled on Sara's face, "Commence decent now!"

"Yes…yes Ma'am." the greencoat frowned, but turned back to his console reluctantly, "Commencing decent. Engines at forty percent. Proceeding at cruising speed. Attitude control in four seconds."

As Archangel slowly fell towards the Earth, the Susanoo exploded above them, the Tsukyomi following them down. Only Miriallia, still locked up down in the storage room, saw the ship finally fall, everyone else aboard too preoccupied with procedures to watch the vessel detonate into an expansive purple cloud of spinning debris. Tears welled in her eyes as she cupped her hands to her mouth in horror.

A ship of the Susanoo's size had to have a crew of hundreds. To see so much life end in a single instant first hand truly opened the young girl's mind to the bloody horrors this war was responsible for.

* * *

Alarms screamed in my ears. The cockpit rattled and shook around me as sweat beaded down my face and was absorbed in my helmet's lining. But I held fast.

Beneath the strike, the domed Gundam struggled to free its trapped limbs from under the Strike's weight. This entire assault had been a pure spur of the moment; a desperate attack to try and fend off the enemy from Athrun's back as he headed for the surface. I didn't think at the time exactly how close we actually were to the atmosphere. Neither did I even take in Earth's gravity well. I just knew I had to help a comrade any way I could.

And now…I could very well pay for my stupidity with my life.

The Aegis was slightly below our tangled machines now; trying to pierce the atmosphere with a narrow enough form before deploying its arms to slow itself down. The only thing I was currently banking on right now was the large dome and its strange system that somehow deflected beam weaponry. I had no idea how that infernal system worked, but right now I could only hope that it, combined with the Gundam's Phase Shift armour, would keep our two suits in one piece. Of course how I would slow down was a completely different matter, but right now I was more worried about keeping my makeshift shield stable with no accessible thrusters.

"_Westfield, what's your status?"_

"First and second layers traversed…attempting to decelerate to mach four…the heat was becoming unbearable within the cockpit. Clearly the Strike's builders had never considered a pilot would be stupid enough to try and take the Gundam into the atmosphere, "Haven't really figured out…how I'm gonna do that yet. How about you?"

"_Will decelerate to mach zero point nine in thirty seconds,"_ the Aegis slowly began to pull up level with me, _"I'll try and grab you once I've slowed down. Get away from the enemy in fifteen seconds, copy?"_

"R…roger…"

I blinked sweat out of my eyes as I tried to stay conscious, mentally counting down the seconds as the Gundam below me struggled in the Strike's grasp.

Five…four…three…two…one…

"_Past layer of turbulence, decelerating now!"_

With a bang that was lost in the Strike's endless rattling, the Aegis opened its arms and immediately swung up above me, the thick limbs and Phase Shift armour keeping the Gundam from breaking apart from the sudden change movement. I breathed a sigh of relief and let my head hang slightly. In another ten seconds or so I might actually get through this.

That thought comforted me…until a single burst of ammunition sliced through one of the Aegis' arms.

"NO!"

The domed Gundam…with my attention focused on escape and the Aegis flying above us its pilot had taken the advantage and pulled one of his mobile suit's arms free, the machine gun mounted to the limb managed another two bursts of fire against Athrun's weakened machine before I managed to capture the limb once more.

Aegis itself now began to spin uncontrollably, rotating faster and faster until it became a crimson blur.

"Zala! Compensate!" I could only watch helplessly as the Gundam's course began to sway from its rapid movement, "You're gonna burn up if you don't slow down!"

"_Thrusters aren't…responding," _Athrun's image began to break up in my Comm. Screen, his face screwed up in pain as he was forced back into his seat, _"Phase Shift armour…almost depleted…"_ he chuckled darkly, _"Damn…Lucky shot…I never thought…I'd go out this way…"_

"Don't talk like that!" I was practically shouting over the sheer noise around me, "Just hold on, I'm coming to get you…"

But how could I do that? If I let go of the domed Gundam, my only shield would be lost. Even as I thought this, the Aegis was only getting further away, a red comet-like streak streaming out behind it.

"_Marcus…"_ I stared helplessly at the comm. Screen as Athrun tried to smile, _"You…you have to…tell her…Tell her…I'm sorry…I couldn't make…the wedding…"_

"A…Athrun…I don't…"

As static slowly engulfed the screen, I could only watch as my comrade closed his eyes and turned his head upwards, perhaps towards the PLANTs. And as the final blow came, one last word echoed over my helmet's speakers, chilling my body down to my very soul.

"_L…Lacus…"_

The Phase Shift died. For the briefest of moments the Aegis turned grey before the armour itself began to melt and burn up. Entire chunks of armour and machinery broke away and burnt up in the atmosphere before the battery itself finally detonated in a blinding flash of white light, letting hellish crimson and orange clouds billow forth across the sky in its wake, trailing like a comet until not even ashes remained.

For a moment, my mouth was dry. Memories of Junius Seven seemed to blur with reality, Ellion and Athrun's faces flashing before my eyes…

No…not again.

"ATHRUN ZALA!"

I doubled over as the scream escaped my lips, my arms coming around my middle as the noises around me became almost silent.

Accept…for the laughter.

It was anything but joyous or sweet. It was cold and harsh, beginning low and dark yet gradually growing in volume and pitch. Soon maniacal laughter rang in my ears, high and deranged in the face of my comrades death.

And it came from the domed Gundam below me.

Something snapped within me. An anger I hadn't felt in almost a year was quickly swallowing me up. I felt my face contorted into a look of pure hatred as I stared into the face of the enemy Gundam below me.

My mind sharpened as I grasped the control sticks below me. Pure hatred pulsed through my veins. My mind was filled with one thought and one thought alone:

"**YOU BASTARD! DIE!**"

* * *

I really only have two things to say about this chapter.

The first is it's one of the hardest I had to write so far, mostly due it was the first time I tried to write a big battle. The hardest aspect was trying to get the different perspectives and in all honesty I don't think it worked out entirely well in some parts. Still, I think this is my favourite chapter thus far, but I'd still value any opinions you might have on it.

The second thing is concerns Athrun. There is only one reason the Aegis became a fireball in the Earth's skies: it is my hope that at least most people didn't see it coming. I have nothing against the character of Athrun or the Aegis. I just want to try and keep you, the reader, interested in this story and the route it will eventually take.

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Feedback and reviews are always valued and appreciated.

Thanks for reading,

Dearing


	10. Eyes of the Others

**PHASE 09**

**EYES OF THE OTHERS**

"**MURDERER! STOP LAUGHING!**"

The Strike's fist smashed into the domed Gundam's head with all the anger I could muster, Phase Shift armour sparking angrily as the faceplate cracked from the blow, swiftly smashing with the follow-up strike. I had gone beyond anger, beyond hatred for this cursed machine that I was pounding into its own dome as we crashed through the atmosphere. Pure carnal rage was the only thing that consumed my mind. It fuelled every thought and every action as I tore at the arm that held the weapon that had ended Athrun's life, the limb breaking clear away, rifle and all, and burning up from the re-entry heat.

Meanwhile the laughter still echoed in my head. Mocking me…mocking Athrun. It made me push the Strike to its very limits as we hurtled through the atmosphere to the hard ground below.

Alarm bells shrieked in my ears as one of my enemy's legs fell away from the main body, but still I continued my assault. I just didn't care anymore. I wanted the domed Gundam's pilot dead, and nothing else would matter until I had cracked that dammed suit open and crushed the fragile body within…

That is…until a new warning light flashed in my eyes; the battery was nearing depletion.

As the Strike's armour hissed angrily and turned a dull grey, my anger quickly faded as the primal instinct to survive quickly took over. Without the phase shift armour a line of defence against re-entry was lost, and already I could feel the heat within the cockpit intensify.

Then there was the ground. Even as I pulled down the maintenance console, desperate to get the Phase Shift Armour back online, a plain of sandy desert stretched out below us, the curve of the Earth gradually getting shallower with every second, the stars engulfed by the reflected light of the atmosphere.

Then there was the screaming. No more was the pilot of the domed Gundam laughing in the face of impenitent death. Now only pain and fear ridden screams filled my cockpit's speakers, tones that turned my blood cold and chilled me down to my very soul. The pilot was dying. Be it from the damage I had caused to his machine or the fact his Natural biology wasn't up to the task of entering Earth's Atmosphere so messily, I didn't know. All I knew was there was nothing I could do to help him…not that I wanted to.

My fingers danced across the maintenance console as I diverted all available power to the thrusters and armour around the cockpit, the Phase Shift hissing weakly in my ears as the Strike's chest turned a pale white.

There wasn't enough power for the entire suit, but it didn't really matter. Below me the domed Gundam seemed to glow faintly and radiate heat through the Strike's armour, the desert sands now dominating my forward view. Impact was imminent.

Slamming my foot against the accelerator pedal, the Aile pack's thrusters roared to life as I released my make-shift shield, the remains of the mobile suit plummeting down and away from sight within moments.

Now all that was left between me and the ground was open sky. I knew as I gripped the control sticks I wouldn't be able to level out in time; there just wasn't enough power to keep the Strike in the air, and the sands below were rapidly approaching.

Pulling back on the control sticks, I angled my Gundam's legs and thrusters towards the Earth, bile rising in my throat as the entire frame lurched at the sudden deceleration, my teeth bared, mind and body braced as the gap between the sands and me went from a mile to metres to centimetres to nothing at all.

A sickening crunch shuddered through the mobile suit's frame as the Strike's feet impacted against the dunes, the legs automatically moving into a run as it detected ground beneath them.

It managed three steps before the Gundam fell.

"Oh shit!"

I felt pain spasm through my body as the Strike slammed into the ground, sand flying in all directions as the great machine ploughed head first through the dunes, the screens before me dissolving into static. All I could feel was pain as I was thrown around within the cockpit's confines, my head slamming into the armoured sides several times as the Strike quickly began to slow.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of noise and pain, the Strike groaned to a halt, the Phase Shift armour finally giving out with a hiss as blessed silence filled my ears.

The Gundam was clearly lying on its front; my body was hanging over the flickering screens by the chair's safety straps.

I felt…broken. My eyesight was blurring, and I could taste blood in my mouth. I was going to pass out…or die. Either would have been a pleasant relief after the ride I'd just endured.

But the engineer and soldier of ZAFT in me quietly took over. I had no idea where I was, only there was a lot of sand. That could mean I was within the African territories of ZAFT or the Middle Eastern countries of the Eurasian Federation for all I knew.

With aching fingers, I brought the maintenance console back down and locked down the Strike's activation program, connecting it to the self-destruction mechanism. If the Earth Alliance wanted their suit back it would have to fight for it, and I wasn't about to make it easy for them.

Of course they might just blow it up anyway, but right now I was too tired, too broken to care. At least this way, I left open the small chance that it would be ZAFT that might find me. A shame to kill myself in a grand explosion only to find myself five miles from a local ZAFT outpost after all.

A short beep confirmed my commands before the batteries on board finally died. I sighed as I smiled slightly. Job done. There was nothing more I could do. Athrun was dead, but so was his killer. One less Gundam to contend with. I was content with that, even if the crew of the Archangel would never find out.

As I quietly blacked out however, the moan of the wind against the cooling armour of the Strike the only sound, the last thought that passed through my mind was the realisation I'd broken my promise to Miriallia.

* * *

The pain was hazed now, he realised.

Not long ago it had arched through his body like lightning from the clouds, but now it was just a dull ache, like a scar that was never quite gone.

Then he realised: he was alive.

The heat of the mid-day sun seeped through the pilot suit, the bright light splintering through the fractured glass of his visor.

It was then he made another discovery: he was running out of air.

The helmet came clear with a pop of the broken seal, his dark eyes squinting against the sun as he inhaled burning hot air and staggered to his feet and turned to look at his landing sight.

The jetpack was still warm against his back, its limited fuel depleted. His mobile suit was long gone however, its remains could have been miles away for all he knew. He wasn't even sure when he'd managed to escape the wreckage. Perhaps he'd blacked out at some point. Even now he was feeling faint…

Which was when he realised a third thing: he was bleeding.

A jagged shard of metal was lodged between his lower ribs, a trickle of crimson oozing through the fabric. Common sense told him to leave it for now. He had no medical kits, and the shard would plug the wound until he could find some kind of aid…_if _he could find aid.

That said…just looking at the gash in his side started to make him feel woozy. Letting the helmet drop into the soft sand, he picked a direction and began to walk.

* * *

"We found her locked up in a normal suit down in the storage lockers by the Hangers. We wouldn't have found her if she hadn't been banging on the door so hard. I can't imagine what she was doing there though."

"The guard at the refugee area said she escaped before we went into battle and went after Westfield. Too bad he's not around. Might be interesting to hear what he has to say."

Sara listened to Yzak and Dearka's conversation with half an ear, her eyes focused on the girl sitting sullenly before her in the Archangel's brig, her hands clasped atop her orange dress, her face partially hidden by light brown bangs and shadows.

Across the room, several of the Earth Alliance prisoners watched with keen interest at the scene before them through the bars of their cells, but she ignored them too. All that concerned her was this girl; one of the first refugees they took on board.

"Miriallia Haw," the girl flinched at the sound of her name as the edge in Sara's voice cut the redcoats' conversation off abruptly, "you were found skulking around the hanger bays. I want to know why."

"I wasn't skulking," her captive's voice was calm yet sullen.

"Then why were you down there?"

"I wanted…to apologise?"

"Apologise?"

"To Marcus." The girl raised her head slightly, gazing at the Commander from behind her bangs. "It was so silly really. I could of waited. He always comes down every so often," she looked away slightly, almost in contemplation. "But I wanted to apologise…something told me I needed to tell him…in case he didn't come back."

"Your gut might have serve you well." Miriallia's eyes sharpened as she snapped her gaze back to Michaels'. "Westfield is currently listed as missing in action along with Zala," the Commander ignored the sharp intake of breath from the pilots behind her. "They didn't return to the Archangel, and we don't know where they are."

"I…see…" Miriallia lowered her gaze again. "What about the Orb ships?"

"The Susanoo was confirmed sunk as we descended to Earth. We don't know where the Tsukyomi made landfall. We presume they made it to Orb."

"Then…we're not at the homeland."

Sara paused, contemplating exactly how much she should reveal.

"No, we're not. We were forced to make a course correction to avoid the Susanoo's debris. We're currently…within ZAFT territory. The Alliance can't harm us here."

"Are you going to take us home?"

Sara stiffened slightly.

"That is no longer up to me."

"No longer up to you?"

"We are currently en-route to Banadiya, the main base of operations for ZAFT in this area. Once we've made port, we will decide what is to be done with the Orb refugees."

Miriallia's eyes widened as she stood up, "The crew of the Susanoo gave their lives to insure we reached Earth. The least you could do is make best speed…"

Your forgetting Miss Haw, this is _not_ a ZAFT ship," Sara held up a contradicting finger with a grim smirk. "My orders were to capture this ship and bring it to the PLANTs for analysis. These orders still stand. That said, Orb is currently not our enemy, and you are still refugees. I will do everything I can to insure they are sent home as soon as possible."

Miriallia became wary, "You said 'they', not you. What are you going to with me?"

"That depends on whether you answer me truthfully or not." the smirk never left Sara's face. "What were you trying to accomplish by escaping the refugee area?"

"I told you why."

"You don't really expect me to believe you broke out of the refugee area just to say your sorry to Westfield do you?" the Commander folded her arms across her chest. "What exactly was so _dire_ that you would get past the guards?"

"I just…" the teen scowled, before looking away. "I wasn't thinking. I put him on the spot a while ago. I just felt I had to say sorry…" she looked back fiercely. "If I wanted to sabotage the ship or something, don't you think I'd of found a more subtle way of doing it then barging past your men?"

Sara merely continued to smile.

"You tell me."

Miriallia glared at the whitecoat angrily, her hands clenched at her sides.

"You can think what you want. I'm not going to spin some fantastical tale about an evil teenage Natural spy on the Alliance payroll just to satisfy your suspicious mind!" she settled back down onto the bed. "I've told you the truth. If you don't believe me, that's your problem."

The smirk disappeared from Sara's face as the two women stared each other down, each gazing at the other unblinkingly as though daring to rise to the debate.

Finally, Sara sighed.

"Elsmen. Please escort Miss Haw down to the refugee area."

"Ma'am?" the blond blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Honestly…it doesn't matter if she's a spy or not," the smirk returned to Sara's lips as she headed out of the brig. "We got the Archangel into ZAFT territory. There's nothing the Alliance can do about it now, even if she was helping them."

* * *

Dearka decided he disliked an awkward silence.

As the elevator sped down towards the Refugee area, the pilot found his foot tapping agitatedly against the deck, his light blue eyes darting to the car's other occupant. Miriallia for her part kept her eyes firmly on the ground before her, a thoughtful frown etched into her pert features, her hands clasping quietly together in front of her.

"What are you thinking?"

She didn't look at him, "Why do you care?"

"Just trying to make conversation," Dearka shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. "You haven't said anything since we left the brig," he smirked slightly, "Plus it's been a while since I talked to a pretty girl."

A wince passed across her face, but she didn't reply. Her silence…irritated him.

"Is it so wrong to talk to me?"

"I don't feel like talking."

"What, do you look down on me or something?"

She turned her head, the sharp look in her eye causing him to blink in surprise.

"Do I look down upon you because you're a Coordinator?" her voice was hard. "Do I think I'm better then you, is that what you're asking? Because your genes have been tampered with? Because you came to my home brought your war with you? Because your Commander thinks I'm an Alliance spy out to blow you all to kingdom come?"

A daring smirk passed across Dearka's face, "Aren't you?"

She snorted at his pathetic attempt to catch her off guard, before lowering her eyes to the deck once more, "You're all paranoid."

"Can you blame us? Ever since we left Heliopolis, the Naturals have been trying to kill us…"

"Don't group us together like that!"

Dearka blinked indignantly as Miriallia glared at him fiercely, "Excuse me?"

"Don't group Naturals under one name, it's just rude," her features softened slightly, as though a far off memory had just come back to her. "When you take away everything that we are, it doesn't matter if we're Natural or Coordinator. We're all just people."  
Dearka gave her a look of disgust, "You don't really thinks that's true do you? I'm not like you. I'm smarter, stronger, faster…"

"But you're still human," Miriallia smiled sadly as the elevator slowed, the doors opening out onto the Refugee area. "It doesn't matter what you do to your DNA, A Coordinator is no more or less of a human being then a Natural."

"Wait a minute!"

He grabbed her wrist before she was halfway out of the car, his teeth bared as he kept his grip tight.

"We are _nothing_ like you," he hissed, afraid of anyone overhearing. "Coordinators are superior to Naturals in every way. Why do you think we're winning this war? Our enhancements over you will bring us victory, I guarantee it!"

To his surprise, she laughed. It wasn't filled with mirth or sarcasm. If anything, Miriallia sounded sad.

"You sound like Flay," she said quietly. "All your doing is fanning their flames," she pulled her wrist away from his grasp, turning towards him, her face set. "So I'll tell you what Marcus told her: I feel…nothing but sorrow for you."

For the first time since the voyage had begun, Dearka had nothing to say. He just stared at her until the elevator doors separated them, the car lurching upwards and leaving him utterly alone.

* * *

"THAT BASTARD!"

Muruta Azrael didn't flinch as a chair sailed past his ear, a slight smirk gracing his lips as he watched the red haired Extended (Clotho he believed his name was) proceed to turn his anger against the nearest wall of the Dominion's briefing room.

"That Stupid Git!" each word was accented by the sound of boot against bulkhead before turning back to his blond superior. "He not only gets himself blown up, but he takes two of those Coordinator bastards with him!"

Azrael merely continued to smile. Of the six people who sat before him along the long table, only Clotho seemed to be taking Shani's demise so badly. Olga, the other Extended, seemed content to keep his thoughts to himself, although the Director noticed his hands seemed to be clenching tightly around his folded arms. The three Natural pilots, Sven Cal Payang, Shams Couza and Mudie Holcroft, all sat stoically before the table, hands in laps, eyes on him, just as they had been told to do. If they wanted to comment on Olga's outburst (And Holcroft seemed to desperately want to laugh in his face.), they didn't say a word. It was only after a minute of listening to the pilot's ranting did Sutherland, ever loyally standing at Azrael's side, finally lost his patience.

"Shut your mouth Extended!" Ortho's teeth connected with a click as the Admiral's voice held a dangerous tone. "You will show respect to your saviours!"

"No, It's alright. Let him vent," Muruta sighed pitifully as he shook his head. "After all, he's got every right to be angry. I mean you've been chasing those guys for how long? And the only way one of you idiots can take down those Coordinators is if you take them personally on a tour of the upper atmosphere? It's quite pathetic really. And I don't know what you three are looking so smug about," the smirk that had been threatening to appear on Mudie's lips quickly disappeared. "_Your_ machines were upgraded just so you could go up against Coordinators. And yet here the three of you are, all clean and tidy because _none_ of you could get the upper hand."

That seemed to strike a nerve. Mudie's jaw seemed to clench as Shams scowled darkly. Only Sven remained silent and unemotional.

Azrael paused to let his words sink in, before allowing a smile to grace his pale face, his hands raised in a helpless manner.

"But still…it wasn't a bad ending for a first time out. Two of the machines the Coordinators captured have now been destroyed, and we have them on the run. We are going to follow them, plain and simple. The two Extended are going to be transferred over to the Dominion and we will make a decent along the Archangel's last known trajectory towards North Africa."

"Isn't that ZAFT controlled territory, Sir?"

The blond raised an eyebrows as Sven finally spoke up, but didn't let the smile leave his lips.

"I suppose it is. What's your point?"

"The Dominion is the only ship capable of entering the atmosphere. With respect sir, is it really wise to invade a nation with only one vessel?"

"Are you doubting your abilities to protect this ship pilot?"

"No sir. I just don't see the need to risk this ship for the sake of one ship and a few prototypes…"

The click of a safety catch caused Sven's voice to die in his throat, his hands clenching into fists under the table as he found himself looking down the barrel of Azrael's pistol.

"Let me ask you another question pilot," Muruta continued to smile calmly. "Are you doubting _me_? Do you think I would risk this ship and this crew without good reason?"

Sven didn't say anything. He just continued to stare down the barrel of the gun into his superior's eyes, refusing to betray emotion to the man before him.

"We allowed the Coordinators to get their hands on our latest technology. Can you imagine the devastation that would ensue if they reversed engineered the Lohengrin? The fact they haven't deployed the Blitz in some time is concern enough wouldn't you say? We must capture or reclaim any technology they have taken from us before they can use it _against _us. It's as simple as that."

"What if they've already managed to get the data to the PLANTs some how?" Sven frowned slightly. "What would this mission accomplish then?"

Azrael's smile merely tightened.

"Then after seeing you in action, let's hope that isn't the case. For your own sakes."

* * *

Nicol blinked several times, not entirely sure he had heard correctly.

"I'm being…replaced?"

Rau Le Creuset smiled gently, leaning back in his chair behind the desk in the Vesalius' office.

"Not replaced. Reassigned."

"Is there…a difference?"

"Of course," the Commander steeped his fingers, the smile never leaving his lips. "You will still be a part of the Le Creuset Team, you just won't be piloting the Blitz."

Nicol frowned again.

"I…don't understand."

"I have been authorised to reconstruct my team." Rau explained, "We currently have the most experience with the Gundams…pending the Archangel's return of course…"

Nicol nodded. There had been rumours circulating around the ships in port of a battle occurring in Earth orbit. No ZAFT vessels had been in the area at the time, so exactly who the Alliance had been fighting was a mystery. Some thought that maybe Orb had finally chosen a side, or perhaps the Naturals were dealing with renegades. Nicol, as one of those few who were officially aware of Archangel's existence, was willing to bet a certain legged ship had been at the centre of that conflict.

"Captain Tandar has agreed to officially merge the remains of the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit into the Le Creuset team until Commander Michaels returns as a replacement for the Gamow's forces and to make use of their evaluation expertise," Rau eased himself out of his chair to make his way around the desk. "Miguel will be able to return to active duty soon, and several pilots and their mahcines will be transferring from the LcConney Team so we'll be able to bolster our numbers somewhat. And then there's our new recruit. She will be taking control of the Blitz Gundam from you when we are officially assembled."

"But…I don't understand," Nicol shook his head. "Commander…I don't want to sound prideful but…I've worked with Gundams the longest here! Miguel has been comatose and our other pilots only have expertise with machines like the GINN. I'll admit, the 603rd's expertise will be useful, but still…"

"We need more pilots to familiarise themselves with Gundam technology," Nicol felt his teeth snap shut as Le Creuset's soft voice took on a slightly harsher tone for the barest of moments. "You are only one man, and if ZAFT is going to reproduce the Alliance's Gundams, we will need more like you and the pilots of the Archangel."

Nicol's eyes widened.

"They're…they're going to make more Gundams?"

"They're in development as we speak," Rau leaned up against the edge of the desk. "The data we retrieved was extremely valuable. To our Mobile suit development…and to our shipyards."

"They're building another Archangel," It was a statement, not a question.

"To an extent. We're currently developing a proof of concept prototype, something to insure we can reverse engineer the Alliance's technology safely," the commander passed a small data-pad to the redcoat. "We'll also work out any problems that were left unfixed on the Archangel. She hasn't been given a name yet, but you can see the basic design here…"

"Another Archangel," Nicol's voice was barely a murmur as he thumbed through the data before him, his eyes taking in technology both old and new. "ZAFT's own Archangel."

"They're expecting her to be spaceworthy by July, with the first Gundam prototypes rolling off the production lines a few weeks earlier." Rau continued to smile as he folded his arms across his chest, "With the Archangel missing in action, and the Blitz the only Gundam we have on hand, the Council obviously wants the prototypes completed as soon as possible so we can begin mass production."

"The council must be pretty eager if they expect to build a warship and mobile suits of Archangel's and a Gundam's calibre in just five months."

"Which is why we need to train other pilots. At present, only two new Gundams are being produced, but we have the possibility of more being on the table should the council decide the cost is worth it. That means we currently need three pilots, two for the prototypes and one for the Blitz, who in turn can train more pilots in the ways of the Gundams and so on. But at the beginning, it all boils down to you Nicol. With all other Gundam pilots missing in action, only you can save us from having to start training programs from scratch. Which is why you have been relieved of piloting duties of the Blitz Gundam. For now, we'll be using it as a training module for the potential pilots. You'll only train one pilot for now. Once the new Gundams have been completed the two of you will be transferred to them, and a third pilot will be trained and assigned to the Blitz."

"One of the most powerful mobile suits created to date…used as a training module…" Nicol smirked as he shook his head in disbelief. "If only its creators could see it now. So…whose the new pilot? A veteran? Miguel?"

Rau shook his head.

"The council felt it would be easier to train a new recruit from the ground up. Besides, a veteran might not be…willing to take orders from someone so young, even if it was Miguel," he pressed a button on the desk. "She graduated top of her class, so I'm sure she won't be too hard to train."

"She must be talented then if she achieved Redcoat status," Nicol smiled as he vaguely heard the door open behind him, "So…when do I meet the pilot?"

"Right now." Rau smiled as he indicated to the door. "Nicol Amalfi, meet your new student."

As the green haired pilot turned, he couldn't help but stare in surprise.

"Shiho Hahnenfuss, reporting as ordered," Shiho snapped off a salute with a smirk. "Good morning Mr. Amalfi, it's good to see you again."

* * *

"You never told me you were with ZAFT!"

"You never asked," Shiho smirked slyly at Nicol as the two pilots made their way through the Vesalius' corridors in the zero gravity. "Besides what difference does it make? Did I just shatter some farm girl image you had or something?"

"Well…yeah…kinda…" Nicol rubbed the back of his neck uneasily, "I mean…Junius Seven _was _an agricultural PLANT, and a farm girl seems to be the kind of girl Marcus would fall for right?"

"Well, I haven't been a soldier very long," Shiho frowned slightly, before smirking again, "and just because I lived on Junius Seven doesn't mean I ploughed the land or anything. That's kind of stereotyping Mr. Amalfi. Shame on you."

"Sorry," he laughed nervously. "I guess I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't think Commander Le Creuset would give me a teaching job of all things."

The girl continued to smirk as they approached the hanger's observation lounge, "Well, at least I'm your only student. If they actually decide to mass produce these things, at least you'll have teaching assistant if they give you a class."

"Guess that's true," the green haired pilot sighed as he stopped near the window, "but for now, one student, and one training module."

Shiho nodded as she turned her gaze to the Blitz Gundam below. It seemed starkly out of place, nestled in its berth between two GINNs. Even Commander Le Creuset's CGUE looked as though it belonged there with its mono-eyed brethren.

"_But that's what makes it special,"_ she thought to herself. _"It's not like a GINN. This machine…is a Gundam."_

* * *

How long had he been walking for now? Minutes? Hours?

He just wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had been trudging through the desert sands for what felt like an eternity, his footprints quickly covered by the dusty winds. At least the sun was nearing the horizon, the cooling air a welcome change to the merciless heat that had been beating down on his broken body.

His throat was parched, every joint ached, and his muscles felt as though someone had set them aflame. The jagged hunk of metal lodged between his ribs meanwhile caused him to wince with every other step, he would have sworn its tip was actually grazing his lungs. Not that it mattered much.

Every step was growing more sluggish, his eyesight blurring as stars seemed to dance around his vision's edge.

He couldn't die. He didn't want to die, but an object half hidden in the sand seemed to tell him otherwise. As his boot smacked against it, his tired body didn't have the will to try and stay on his feet. The sand burned against his face as he crashed into the dune, mercifully on his uninjured side. He didn't scream, he didn't see the point. No one would hear him, no rescue was coming.

His limbs refused to help him return to his feet. No matter how hard he tried, his hands only sunk into the hot sand while his arms weakly shook under his own weight.

Finally, he gave up, his head falling against the dune with a soft thump.

With waning strength, he slowly looked down the length of his body to where the object that had been his downfall lay, now unearthed by the sudden impact it had endured. It was a large slab of metal, probably around half his size, dark grey yet charred around the edges, with a series of letters and numbers imprinted on the surface that made his eyebrows hike up.

GAT-X303.

He might have laughed If he hadn't thought it would kill him. The irony of the situation seemed just too cliché.

Falling onto his back, he gazed up at the still bright sky as he felt his consciousness waning. Was this truly the end for him? Here he was, a soldier in the middle of a war, and he met his end by a piece of scrap metal? He chuckled darkly at the thought. Again, it just seemed all too cliché.

But now darkness was clouding in on all sides of his vision, his breathing becoming slower with every heartbeat. His eyelids felt heavy…he just wanted to sleep.

As consciousness finally left him, he swore he heard the sounds of scurrying feet across the desert sands, and the sounds of voices in an unknown language talk above him.

* * *

"Sheesh. Look at this thing. It must of dug a trench a mile long…"

Cagalli couldn't help but silently agree as the half-truck pulled up to the crash site, her dark eyes scanning the fallen machine in the quickly fading light.

She just had to take a look at the large Aile Striker pack mounted to the mobile suit's back to identify it as the X105.

Admittedly it had been in far better shape the last time she'd seen it at Heliopolis. Dents and scratches scoured most of the bodywork, one of the horns of it's creast had completely snapped off and one of the Aile's wings was bent at a rather ugly angle just to name a few items on a long list of damages. That was nothing to say of the trench the suit had left behind. While not a mile long, it still stretched out across the dunes and was already starting to fill up from the desert winds, yet it almost seemed to glint in the evening light, melted sand having formed globules of glass from the heat the machine must have been brimming with on impact. The G-weapon itself had been found flat on its face but had since been pulled onto one side by the first of the resistance fighters, and was now leaning precariously against one of the Aile's broken wings and thruster assemblies, its head lolling ever so slightly towards the ground.

It looked almost…sad.

Almost.

"What a mess," Ahmed smirked as he pulled his goggles onto his dark brown hair. "I'm kinda surprised though. That other suit didn't even survive the freefall, let alone the impact."

"Maybe it was just an inferior model," Cagalli shrugged as she jumped over the jeep's side onto the cooling sands, "or maybe the pilot of the Strike was just the better of the two."

"Not that it did him much good. What!" the boy blinked in surprise at the dark scowl that crossed his companion's face. "I'm just saying. We saw the thing come down around mid-day and now the sun's going down. You'd of thought he would get up and go if he was alive."

"Not unless he dug his way out," Sahib Ashman sighed as he approached the pair, his bearded face covered in sweat and sand. "There's barely any power in this thing Cagalli. He probably wouldn't have even been able to open the door without the emergency release, let alone get his mobile suit back onto its feet. Even then, the machine was lying on its front, no way he would have been able to escape."

"Do you think he's alive?"

"Hard to say." Sahib scratched at his beard. "We didn't exactly bring the technology to detect body heat. Then again, the whole damn suit has been sitting in the sun all day, and before that it crashed through the atmosphere, so we wouldn't be able to tell anyways. The only way we'll know for sure is when we pop the hatch."

"We almost ready?"

"Just give the word," the elder guerrilla smirked as Cagalli pushed past him. "What's the hurry? The flatbeds won't be hear for another hour. There's no rush."

The blonde merely scowled at him from under her light bangs.

"I just want to see who got their hands on these machines first. That's all."

She strode away purposefully from the surprised men before either could voice a reply, her eyes set on the prone mobile suit before her as several comrades attached cables to a maintenance panel near the machine's entry hatch.

"Are you ready?"

"Just give me a minute," the guerrilla bit his tongue between his teeth as he poked at the flat device in his hands, "This thing was meant to hack into BuCUEs so it's having a bit of trouble with this Earth Alliance tech…there we go."

The dim light of sunset poured into the darkened cockpit as the hatch reluctantly opened with an angry hiss, an empty silence hanging in the air as the small group watched for signs of movement.

After a moment more of waiting, Cagalli hesitantly peered into the gloom.

The first thing she noticed was the crimson of the pilot's suit. Lying prone, his body held in place by the safety harness, his face obscured by a spider web of cracks running across his helmet's visor.

"Huh…ZAFT eh? Is he dead?"

The blonde scowled at Ahmed as he poked his head round the edge of the hatch.

"If you give me a minute, I can check…idiot."

She smirked slightly as she pushed past the indignant boy. Careful not to step on any of the side screens, she perched on the cockpit's side and she slowly reached for the broken helmet's edge, the headpiece giving way with only the barest of clicks.

The pilot was drenched in sweat. Pale skin glistening, his dark brown hair clinging to his skull. He could have easily been mistaken for dead, had his features not been twitching erratically, his face contorted with pain.

"He's alive." Cagalli frowned as she leaned back, helmet in hand. "Barely I guess."

"Maybe we should just put him out of his misery then."

"What do you…hey!" Cagalli did a double take as Ahmed raised his rifle to the pilot's exposed head. "YOU IDIOT!"

"OW!" all eyes suddenly looked up in alarm as Ahmed was roughly pushed from the mobile suit's cockpit, landing in the sand with a soft thump. "What was that for!"

"I said he was alive dammit!" the blonde glared down at the guerrilla as he rubbed his sore buttocks. "He needs medical attention, not a bullet to the head!"

"But he's ZAFT isn't he!" Ahmed glared up at her. "You know, the guys we're fighting out here!"

Cagalli scowled quietly.

"I know he's with ZAFT, but that doesn't give us the right to kill him, not like this. When we kill, those soldiers are trying to kill us! What does that say about the Desert Dawn if we kill a man who is sick and unarmed?"

Ahmed scratched his head uneasily.

"Nothing good when you put it like that."

"But is it really worth all the trouble?" Sahib frowned as he approached. "It took a lot of money to get these flatbeds out here, and we don't even know what's wrong with the Coordinator."

"It'll be worth it, I promise, " Cagalli smirked. "This mobile suit was originally designed to be piloted by Naturals. Think of the its potential if we could get it running, even if it's only for a single operation. And if we keep the pilot alive…" she turned to look at the Coordinator, her eyes hardening, "If we play our cards right…he might just make things easier for us."


End file.
